Mozilla Releases Firefox 3 Beta 2, Dec 21, 2007

As the season of giving nears its apex, Mozilla got into the spirit, announcing on Wednesday the release of Web browser Firefox 3 Beta 2 for testing.

The entry cost for personal computing is tumbling thanks to lower component prices, the greater popularity of low-cost (and often Linux-based) operating systems and free open software.

Looks like Google doesn't have the Midas touch after all. According to reports, a sizable number of developers who've been working with the SDK for Google's Linux-based Android platform say it is full of bugs and often doesn't work at all.

Motorola plans to launch its next-generation Linux-based "Ming" handsets in the second quarter of 2008, with the hand input intelligence handsets to be available in both high-end and entry-level versions, according to market sources.

The news that Dell has now released Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on its boxes (and about time too!) has been tempered somewhat by a potential storm of controversy caused by a couple of software packages that come bundled with the Dell Linux PCs.

According to this article (Norwegian only, sorry) on digi.no the Norwegian government has mandated the use of open document formats from January 1st, 2009. I’ll give a brief overview of what the article actually says.

By announcing last week it would begin providing indirect technical support for OpenOffice.org, Sun Microsystems Inc. took another quiet step towards admitting that the 'freemium' business model it has employed for the past five years has been -- at least in regards to sibling StarOffice -- a failure.

“The judge slapping down SCO in the SCO vs. IBM/Novell lawsuit was the smartest move,” says Andreas Antonopoulos, founding partner at Nemertes Research and a Network World columnist.

Developers of open-source Samba software will find their work a little easier thanks to an agreement with Microsoft, signed Thursday, that will give them access to previously secret data on how the Windows operating system works.

In a move that caught even Red Hat senior staffers by surprise, the Linux company announced on Dec. 20 that long-time president and CEO Matthew Szulik is resigning.

 View older news this year: Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
 View news from other years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999