Linux News: Financial News

Startup, Know Thyself: Q&A With Sierra Ventures Managing Director Tim Guleri
January 29, 2010

In this business climate, the road to striking a venture capital deal is difficult for both funder and fundee. Small startups with big ideas obviously have a harder time finding VC firms willing to take a chance on them, but those VC firms themselves are under added pressure to make the correct decisions regarding where to put their limited resources.

EC's Long, Hard Look at Sun-Oracle Deal Gets Longer, Harder
September 03, 2009

Setting up a WiFi network at home has gotten much easier, yet the process can still be daunting. Or the wireless signal won't reach everywhere. A good alternative that has gotten little attention involves your electric sockets. Simply plug palm-sized adapters into regular wall outlets and connect your computers to the adapters.

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.

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!

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.

Oracle Ropes In Sun for $7.4B
April 20, 2009

Oracle's announcement Monday that it is buying Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in cash has the potential to rock the hardware and software markets. Oracle expects the deal will boost its earnings considerably over the next few years. The two companies' technologies will likely mesh to make Oracle an even bigger powerhouse.

Terra Soft to Merge With Japanese Cell Developer Fixstars
November 11, 2008

Terra Soft Solutions, the developer of Yellow Dog Linux, has been acquired by the Japanese software firm Fixstars Corporation, a developer of Cell Broadband Engine solutions. The new company, now known as "Fixstars Solutions," is operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fixstars and will maintain its entire product line from a regional office in Loveland, Colo., where Terra Soft is based.

Sun Shrouded in Q4 Gloom
August 01, 2008

Sun Microsystems continues to struggle. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based server maker reported that earnings in the quarter ended June 30 fell nearly 74 percent to $88 million, compared with earnings of $329 million during the same period a year ago. Quarterly revenue fell 1.4 percent to $3.78 billion, down from $3.83 billion during the same period in 2007.

Will Iona's Open Source Strategy Survive Progress Acquisition?
June 25, 2008

Call it a Route 128 SOA date. Progress Software is buying Iona Technologies for a little more than $100 million in actual value, broadening Progress' service oriented architecture portfolio significantly and catapulting Progress into the open source software infrastructure arena.

Sun Suffers a Reversal of Fortunes
May 02, 2008

Sun Microsystems announced a $34 million loss in its fiscal third quarter as the company continued to repurchase its stock, reinvest cash in the business and pursue acquisitions and expansion in emerging markets. That's a steep drop from the $67 million the company made in the same quarter in 2007.

Red Hat Roars in Q4
March 28, 2008

Red Hat saw its stock move briskly higher Friday as investors digested a strong earnings performance and an optimistic outlook. The company posted record software license sales and issued guidance that topped Wall Street estimates for 2009. For its fourth quarter, Red Hat saw revenue of $141.5 million, a 27 percent increase over the year before.

SCO Gets $100M Valentine
February 15, 2008

The SCO Group, a software technology and mobile services firm that focuses on Unix-based solutions -- but is perhaps best for its high-profile lawsuits against Novell and IBM -- has announced a $100 million cash infusion from Stephen Norris Capital Partners that promises to yank the small Utah-based company out of bankruptcy.

VC Funding for Open Source: A Tough Sell
December 20, 2007

Open source software developers who were active in the late 1990s might find themselves yearning for those good old days, when venture capital flowed like wine at Napa Valley party. Maybe they forgot the hangover that settled in once the bubble burst. Open source software's fall from grace was dramatic and sobering, but it wasn't alone and it doesn't mean open source is a dead industry.

Linux: Success or Failure? Return of Sage Circle, Cisco's Possible Future, Product of the Week
December 17, 2007

One of the things you learn quickly when you work for a large company is how well executives can cover up failure. I think, to a large extent, that is what is happening with Linux. Folks are covering up its failure with rhetoric, and that is keeping it from growing to its potential. I'm an analyst, and particularly when we challenge popular views, folks want to know what is behind those views.

Novell Sales Surge, Restructuring Costs Skyrocket
December 14, 2007

After a one-week delay, Novell released its fourth quarter earnings Thursday, saying that higher-than-expected costs associated with an ongoing restructuring would weigh on results even as sales of its Linux products surged higher. The restructuring effort could now cost as much as $70 million, Novell said, which is significantly higher than the $35 million to $45 million it previously forecast.

Novell Delays Reports as SEC Pokes Around
December 05, 2007

Novell announced Wednesday that it has decided to postpone the release of its fourth quarter and full-year 2007 earnings reports, both of which were scheduled for Thursday. The cause, it said, was an inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission, with which Novell has had a series of exchanges regarding some of its recent filings.