Search

HP's decision to open source its webOS mobile operating system may have met with some early cheers from observers glad to see the company's indecision come to an end, but much of that relief has been increasingly tempered by sentiments of a darker kind. "WebOS is doomed to fail" read one headline.

Users of eight HTC smartphones will be among the first to receive an upgrade to Google's new Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The company described the set of devices named as "the first wave" of HTC phones that will receive upgrades, adding that "we're continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay...

Ubuntu is already the leading Linux distribution on desktop PCs, according to DistroWatch, and now it's set its sights on tablets, smartphones and even TVs as well. Calling the move "probably the most significant broadening of scope in Ubuntu's history," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth told re...

Microsoft has signed an agreement with Compal Electronics granting the device maker coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for its tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices running Android or Chrome.The deal comes hard on the heels of similar arrangements made with Wistron a...

So Turkey Day has come and gone for another year here in the good old U-S-of-A, but what comes next might be even better -- at least from a geek's perspective. That's right, it's Black Friday once again, and the tech shopping deals are ripe for the picking. Who has time to worry about Novell, Attach...

Just a day after Oracle filed suit against Google for its use of Java in Android, the FOSS community received another blow at the hands of the tech giant in the form of news that it plans to kill the OpenSolaris project. "This is a terrible sendoff for countless hours of work -- for quality software...

Open source software is poised for rapid growth in enterprises over the next 12 months, but cost is no longer the primary driver behind open source adoption. That's according to a new study from global consultancy Accenture, which based its findings on interviews with 300 executives at organizations...

A new group announced Tuesday aims to create a community-built and -maintained version of Oracle's OpenSolaris operating system in which all portions of the code are open and fully available for use by developers. Called "Illumos," the new project will replace the closed portions of Oracle's OpenSol...

The latest version of the Linux kernel was released on Sunday, offering not just a host of bug fixes but also new features designed for multicore environments. Most notably, tapping technology contributed by Google, Linux version 2.6.35 includes Receive Packet Steering and Receive Flow Steering fea...

Personal data about millions of Android users could be sent to a mysterious Chinese website thanks to a set of wallpaper apps in the Android Market. That's according to mobile security firm Lookout, which discovered the questionable apps as part of its new App Genome Project, an effort to identify s...

The LiMo Foundation and the GNOME Foundation on Monday announced that they have begun working together as partners to further open source innovation. Starting immediately, LiMo Foundation will become a member of the GNOME Foundation's advisory board and the GNOME Foundation will become an industry l...

Rackspace Hosting on Monday announced the launch of OpenStack, an open source cloud platform designed to foster technology standards and cloud interoperability. NASA is collaborating on the project. Rackspace is donating the code that powers its Cloud Files and Cloud Servers public-cloud offerings t...

Opera Software on Wednesday released its Opera Mini 5.1 browser for the Android mobile platform, concluding a beta period that began in March. Opera Mini 5.1 offers improved page layout on high-end Android handsets with large screens, its Norwegian maker says. Among the software's features are tabbe...

Cisco on Tuesday unveiled the Cisco Cius, an Android-powered tablet that targets business users. Billed as a "mobile collaboration business tablet," the Cius delivers virtual desktop integration with access from anywhere to the full range of Cisco collaboration and communication applications, includ...

When Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy S makes its U.S. debut in the coming months, it will do so as five different phones tailored for five different carriers. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular will all support a Galaxy S device, though the handset will be renamed and recast slig...

Dell reportedly is talking with Google about the possibility of using the search giant's Chrome OS on its laptop computers. Dell wants to be a "leader" when it comes to implementing Chrome and Android, said Amit Midha, Dell's president for Greater China and South Asia, who confirmed that talks betwe...

It's hard to imagine a topic more central to the argument for or against free and open source software than security. Hardly a day goes by without news of some fresh exploit in the Windows environment, after all -- but what about Linux and other open software? Can they do better? That's essentially ...

Verizon and Motorola are planning to unveil the next Droid device at a launch event that will take place just a day before eager Apple fans will get their hands on iPhone 4. Verizon Wireless, Motorola, Google and Adobe will share the stage on June 23rd in New York, with Verizon Wireless Executive Vi...

The question of security is one that has plagued proponents of proprietary and open source software alike for as long as there has been a choice. Is free and open source software more secure by virtue of all the many pairs of eyes that can see the code, identify vulnerabilities and fix them? Or is "...

Ask fans of FOSS what keeps them loyal to free and open source software, and security will likely be high on the list. Ask proponents of paid, proprietary software, however, and they may well say the same thing. On the one hand, there's the argument that open source software is more secure because t...