Archive

The Mozilla Foundation this week made available its Firefox 2.0 browser, adding enhanced search and security features to its open source alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. That program was updated itself last week, with Redmond's release of IE7. New Firefox features include an updated use...

Linux leader Red Hat has unveiled an aggressive effort to expand its reach in the telecommunications industry, leveraging its acquired JBoss middleware and open source technology in the space and joining a European community project aimed at fostering an open service telecom infrastructure. Red Hat ...

Software maker Adobe made available the highly-anticipated Linux version of Flash Player 9 in beta form this week. The media player, combined with Adobe's Flex 2 Software Development Kit, make up a fully-supported, free platform for rich Internet applications. A final version of the Linux-specific p...

Scalix, a software company providing Linux-based e-mail, calendaring and messaging clients, is now offering a series of open source components based upon its products. The company announced this week an open source project through which it is releasing the source code to several of its flagship offe...

Novell is bundling more and more software with its Suse Linux distribution, this week announcing a partnership with IBM that puts Big Blue's proprietary WebSphere and DB2-Express C database technologies alongside open source Suse Linux. The Integrated Stack for Suse Linux Enterprise will combine Lin...

Open source database vendor MySQL released new functionality and services under an "enterprise" moniker, reflecting the Swedish company's aggressive strategy for acquiring bigger and better customers. Taken together, all of the open source databases -- including MySQL, Ingres and PostgreSQL -- occup...

Microsoft has opened its virtualization technology. The software giant made its Virtual Hard Disk virtualization specification available under its own Open Specification Promise (OSP) with the aim of encouraging development and increasing interoperability. Looking to ensure its piece of the virtual...

As Firefox lovers await version 2.0 of the open source browser, Mozilla is already moving ahead with plans to develop the next version -- and it wants your help. Mozilla issued Release Candidate 3 of Firefox 2.0 on Monday. It is expected to be the final version of the browser before its official lau...

Massachusetts' embrace of open technology, open standards and open source software was simply routine strategic planning, the way Tim Vaverchack tells it. However, the state's stance to strongly consider alternatives to proprietary solutions -- such as the Open Document Format -- has fueled one of t...

Open source software is a known resource among government IT pros, who are continually asked to do more with less, but beyond the flexibility and freedom from licensing fees, those who know how to leverage IT to its fullest are also using the collaboration aspect of open source software to succeed. ...

Open source may be experiencing a somewhat slow uptake in government offices lately because the traditional "request for proposal" process -- required and used by governments when spending tax dollars on software and other technology resources -- often excludes open source options. Even worse, gover...

Java backer Sun Microsystems and open source application development player Laszlo Systems have announced a partnership to support OpenLaszlo applications on Java Micro Edition devices. The two companies said the deal will boost the portability and flexibility of both products, and would form the ba...

The programming tool Ajax has proven integral to the latest popular Internet destinations and is winning the favor of corporate supporters, including IBM and Google, as well as developers. However, there are some security issues that may accompany this cutting-edge technology tool. Among them are th...

With its mix of capability and flexibility, often at a lower cost, Linux continues its aggressive growth in the enterprise server market, according to new research. A survey of nearly 400 IT developers and professionals indicates that use of Linux in at least some servers is still on the rise, repor...

Google's new Code Search, a developer tool that scours the Internet for software code, is stirring up buzz over what some see as its potential for misuse by computer attackers. Code Search is meant to optimize searches for specific software codes, scripts, licenses and related information. However, ...