Showing headlines posted by dave

Red Hat and HP are taking Linux intellectual property concerns seriously.

LINUXWORLD -- The main theme of this show ought to be, "We now offer Linux support!" Most of the companies making this boast -- often in press releases with all-caps headlines -- are proprietary software vendors, and most of their products are utilities of some sort aimed at enterprise users, not at consumer-level desktop users.

Computer Associates (CA) issued a million dollar challenge to the open source community today, aimed at fostering the development of migration toolkits for its newly open-sourced Ingres r3 database. The cash will be distributed to developers who create solutions that enable users of Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase Adaptive Enterprise Server, IBM DB2 Universal Database, Informix, and/or MySQL to migrate to the Ingres r3 database platform. Qualifying solutions will be eligible for cash awards of up to $400,000 per developer, the company says.

Any laptop user who has ever used or tried to use Linux on a laptop has experienced at least some level of frustration. Older notebooks aren't such an issue, but bring in wireless technologies, DVD playback (legally), and power management and you're in a bit of a quandary. While you can find a notebook that maybe some of those features work on, it's been impossible to find one that's completely supported -- until now.

Linux is the fastest growing OS in the mobile device market, but currently accounts for less than 2 percent of total shipments, according to this research report from Canalys. Canalys operates a continuous information service on the mobile device and wireless handset markets, which it says are growing rapidly.

SAN FRANCISCO--MySQL has created a version of its popular open-source database software for Linux on IBM's Power processors, the company said Tuesday.

The biggest-ever Windows-to-Linux migration--the city of Munich's 14,000 desktops--has been put on ice while legal issues are settled.

If you look on the Web you can find many examples of experts claiming that Linux is not ready for the desktop. Headlines like Why Windows still beats Linux and Why Linux isn't ready for the Desktop are all too common. In some cases, the commentators have valid points, but often they perpetuate myths that simply are no longer true -- namely, that Windows is easier, and that Linux application software is lacking. The problem is, the pundits are comparing apples and aardvarks.

SAN FRANCISCO--Selling servers is IBM's biggest Linux business, with nearly $2 billion in sales expected in 2004, but the company says services and software revenue will grow in coming years.

SAN FRANCISCO -- If there is a headline you can use to describe this week's LinuxWorld Conference& Expo at the Moscone Center, look no further than the one right above this story. LWCE is up to 190 exhibitors and more than 90 educational sessions, the most ever in its six-year history, and growing in importance each year. More CxOs are finding time to mingle and make deals here than ever before, and fewer independents are making the trek to the Left Coast.

As Desktop Linux matures, new users are flocking to the community. They tend to be young, have significant user experience, have an interest in learning more about Linux, like to get under the hood, have or use current or recently purchased equipment, or like to revive existing computers. These "migrating users" quickly discover the wealth of online Linux information and help, but they have a lot of questions. In this interesting article at DesktopLinux.com, contributing editor Tom Adelstein examines the characteristics and needs of migrating Desktop Linux users, and offers some strategies for veterans and others to help them toward the goal.

Our senior editor sees a deeper role developing for open source in business.

The Mozilla Foundation today released new versions of the Mozilla 1.7 suite, Firefox 0.9 and Thunderbird 0.7, addressing three security vulnerabilities.

the first Beta release of Mandrakelinux 10.1 is now available for download and tests.

LINUXWORLD -- Open-Xchange Server, the Microsoft Exchange Server workalike, is being released under the GPL at the end of August. Open-Xchange Server is the engine behind Novell/SUSE's Openexchange Server, and is produced by Netline Internet Service. Netline CEO Frank Hoberg will be in the Novell booth during most of the LinuxWorld Conference& Expo, displaying what a company press release describes as "the industry's top-selling Linux-based groupware, collaboration, and messaging application."

To make sure the company gets "it right," Novell is taking its time with its Linux desktop, demoing only a version of it at LinuxWorld for the purpose of user reaction.

Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) will turn to open-source software developers to help businesses migrate to its Ingres relational database software, it said Wednesday.