Linux News: Business

Whipping MuleSource Into Shape
September 01, 2009

Having secured funding from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Morgenthaler Ventures, MuleSource cofounder Ross Mason turned what was the Mule Project into an open source player on the fast track. Re-invigorated with new CEO Greg Schott, MuleSource has been ramping up its business in the wake of a recession that has gutted some proprietary legacy players.

Google's Curious Chrome Gambit
August 28, 2009

Why is Google promoting two open source operating systems that can both be run on netbooks -- Android and Chrome? Is this part of a larger strategy, where Google will direct the two along different paths -- Chrome for netbooks and Android for the smartphone? Or could the Internet search giant just be floundering, with different groups of techies each going their own merry way with no clear marketing position?

Linux in 2013: One *Billion* Dollars!
August 27, 2009

It's a rare day on the Linux blogs when comparisons don't get made between Windows and our favorite operating system, but when those comparisons take the form of benchmarks, we can't help but sit up and listen. Sure enough, following a like comparison earlier this year, the bloggers over at TuxRadar recently put Windows 7, Vista and various versions of Ubuntu through their paces again.

Court Decision Sets Up SCO for Another Round
August 25, 2009

A federal appeals court on Monday reversed a judge's decision that granted the copyright of the Unix computer operating system to Novell. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a judge erred in August 2007 by granting the copyright to Novell. The panel ordered a trial to determine ownership.

Licenses, Libraries, Laws and Loopholes
August 20, 2009

It's been a relatively quiet few days on the Linux blogs, but that didn't stop geeks from taking time out last Sunday to wish Debian a happy birthday. Yes, it was exactly 16 years ago on the 16th that Ian Murdock announced the imminent arrival of what he called the "Debian Linux Release." Happy Birthday, Debian.

VMware Laps Up SpringSource
August 11, 2009

VMware is acquiring SpringSource, an enterprise and Web application development and management company, to eventually build out a Platform as a Service offering. Under the terms of the agreement, VMware will pay approximately $362 million in cash and equity, and it will assume approximately $58 million of unvested stock and options.

Piracy, Open Source and the Shrinking Space Between
August 06, 2009

There's a rumor that honor exists among thieves, but outside of Robin Hood, no one considers them a bunch of do-gooders. Yet there may be a bright side to their shadowy work, at least in terms of enterprise software. It could very well be that they will drive the prices down.

On Pi Approximation Day, Flying Pigs and DRM
July 27, 2009

America's Independence Day may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean there's been nothing else to celebrate as the summer wears on. No indeed! Last Wednesday was none other than Pi Approximation Day, an event of perhaps even greater import for geeks far and wide. Traditional celebrations include marching in circles and eating pie.

A Summer of Linux Delights
July 23, 2009

There's nothing like good, clean Linuxy fun to perk up the dog days of summer. What's a little heat, after all, when you can cool off watching your favorite OS on the silver screen? "Skydiving Tux," "Worm Detected" and "Linux Beauty" are among the gems on Carla Schroder's YouTube list. We'd only add the recent clip of RMS dancing at FISL 10 in Brazil. You just can't buy entertainment like that!

On Patents, Promises and 'Ugly' Patches
July 16, 2009

It was once written that promises are most given when the least is said. Lately, however, a great deal has been said about Redmond's latest round of promises. For those who haven't been following the story, it all began when Microsoft's Peter Galli announced last week that his company had applied its "Community Promise" to the C# and CLI programming languages.

Microsoft Puts C#, CLI Under No-Lawsuit Umbrella
July 08, 2009

Microsoft made good Tuesday on a promise it made months ago to the open source community that it would not sue software developers who use its EMCA C# programming language and Common Language Infrastructure, or CLI. This announcement aims to calm growing fears that Microsoft might restrict open source projects by going after program developers for patent or other intellectual property infringements.

Reductive Labs Snaps Up Cash, Pumps Up Puppet
July 07, 2009

Before he helped start Reductive Labs, CEO Luke Kanies was determined to improve IT systems management options to eliminate the repetitive tasks required to manage policies across networks, cloud computing systems, and virtual machine banks. In 2002, that direction led to the Puppet project, a system for automating admin tasks. The launch of his company followed in 2003.

SourceForge Grows Up - and Out
June 19, 2009

SourceForge, a media services and e-commerce company that provides open source software downloads and development, is enjoying the best of both business worlds. It is one of the largest open source software repositories -- the SourceForge Web site has more than 30 million unique visitors per month -- and it reported more than $40 million in earnings for its last quarter, with no outstanding debt.

FOSS and the Labyrinthine Land of Licensing
May 29, 2009

Last December, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision that could push FOSS questions into a more litigious arena. In the matter of Jacobsen v. Katzer, the court ruled that breach of an open-source license can support a claim for copyright infringement with associated remedies.

The Curious Case of Android v. Android
May 06, 2009

Google's right to use the word "Android" for its mobile phone operating system is being challenged by Erich Specht, who acquired a trademark for the name "Android Data" in 2002. Google attempted to gain the right to use "Android" for its OS last year, as it happens, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied its petition due to possible product confusion.

OdioWorks Drags Apple to Court in Free Speech Battle
April 28, 2009

A discussion about open source technology on the tech forum site run by Virgina-based OdioWorks is pitting the defense of a First Amendment right -- namely, freedom of speech -- against enforcement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the tech industry's legal guiding light for the past decade.