HP: Don't like software patents? Learn to deal, Feb 16, 2005

Open-source programmers might not like the idea of software patents, but those critics would be better off adapting to the fact that they're not going away, Hewlett-Packard's top Linux executive said Tuesday.

In line with its server product upgrade, Linux seller Red Hat will release a new operating system for desktop computers, a senior company official has confirmed.

A vulnerability found in open-source MPEG audio player mpg123 received a "highly critical" rating Tuesday from security information provider Secunia.

Modernization is coming to the General Public License, a legal framework that supports a large part of the free and open-source software movements and that has received sharp criticism from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

The man behind GNU/Linux--not just Linux, he stresses is relentless in his quest to help users worldwide free themselves from the shackles of proprietary software.

Management guru Clayton Christensen has a paradoxical answer for Microsoft to the challenge posed by open source: Invest in Linux applications for handheld devices

A quiet revolution is rising in China, with Linux as its cause. Suppliers are flocking to penetrate the market while government bodies are growing the user base there.

If concerted efforts being exerted by the Chinese government and other independent local Linux groups are indications to go by, the country might transform into one of the largest markets for open source computing.

Although Microsoft has released cut-rate versions of Windows for Malaysia and Thailand, it may not do the same for China, one of the world's largest PC markets.

Speaking to reporters in China, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said he doesn't know whether discount versions of the company's software will be needed in that country. He also said that antitrust regulations being passed by the Chinese government will not particularly hurt Microsoft's business.

A day after confirming plans for an open-source flavor of its Solaris server operating system, a technology specialist from Sun Microsystems says the company will do the same for Java.

Speaking to ZDNET Australia, Sun's Java technology evangelist Raghavan Srinivas said an open-source version of Java "will happen," although the timeline and licensing details remain sketchy at this point.

"We haven't worked out how to open source Java, but at some point it will happen," he said.

"It might be today, tomorrow or two years down the road," Srinivas added.

"We will open source Solaris."

So said Sun Microsystems' president and chief operating officer Jonathan Schwartz at an Asia Pacific press conference in Shanghai today.

"I don't want to say when that will happen. But make no mistake, we will open source Solaris," he declared.

The move is a widely anticipated one. Still, what will keep users and the press guessing for now is what form the licensing model of its longstanding server operating system will take as Schwartz refused to elaborate.

Sun Microsystems plans to release on Tuesday the second version of its Java Desktop System, the server maker's version of Linux for desktop computers, augmenting the software with new management and programming tools.

The new version reproduces some features of Microsoft Windows, including an automated software update service and a utility that lets a manager control a system remotely, according to sources familiar with the product. It also will come with the first version of Sun's Configuration Manager, which lets an administrator control the privileges and settings of different groups of desktop users.

Linux could start to chip away at Microsoft's stronghold on the enterprise desktop within the next 12 months, says a senior executive from Novell.

To date, Linux's successes among Asian businesses has been largely confined to the server end. With the exception of some government-led initiatives, particularly those undertaken by Chinese and Thai authorities, the open-source operating system (OS) has not made significant inroads into the corporate desktop market.

However, David Lenz, director of sales and marketing for Novell Asia-Pacific, is bullish the tide could turn this year.

IBM has sent an open letter to Sun Microsystems, urging the company to make Java technology open source, CNET News.com learned late Wednesday.

In a letter sent by Rod Smith, IBM's vice president of emerging technology, IBM offered to work with Sun to create a project that would shepherd development of Java through an open-source development model. If implemented, portions of Sun's most valuable software asset--Java--would be freely available, and contributors ranging from volunteer programmers to large corporations would submit changes to the Java software.

Linux advocates often pride the operating system to be more secure than Windows but this claim could have attracted the unwanted attention of the hacking community.

An analysis of hacker attacks on online servers in January by U.K.-based security consultancy mi2g found that Linux servers were most frequently hit, accounting for 13,654 successful attacks, or 80 percent of the survey total. Windows came in a distant second with 2,005 attacks.

A detailed analysis of government servers also found Linux to be more susceptible, accounting for 57 percent of all security breaches.

The Malaysian government has created a fund worth US$36 million for start-ups developing open-source software.

The OSS-Platform Investment Program (OSS-PIP) is aimed at forming 40 commercially active open-source software companies over the next two years, according to news daily The Star.

Malaysian authorities hope that expertise in open-source software can help the country become specialty player in the global IT market, which it views as a field dominated by large Western multinationals.

As the Linux Expo got underway in Olympia's exhibition centre on Tuesday, across town at the UK Tech Summit some of the UK's most prominent CIOs gave the idea of open source a decidedly cool reception.

Speaking at a panel debate at the influential gathering of technology vendors and CIOs, they said that although Linux does figure in their organizations, they still do not feel it is ideal for mission-critical operations.

The views are likely to inflame the sensibilities of Linux advocates, who cite the stability and security of Linux as a major advantage over Microsoft's operating systems.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) issued a report meant to clarify licensing issues around the open source software, which lately has been under attack from The SCO Group for alleged copyright infringement.

"Unnecessary fears" about using Linux in Japan-made products could mean a "huge loss of opportunities for the software industry and the government to have access to it, and it would hurt the lives of the people," said the report, which was quoted in Nikkei Electronics News.

In addition to commercial reasons for protecting local software, there are security concerns. China is placing official support behind the Red Flag Linux operating system, which they trust because the open-source code allows officials to see that there are no data spyholes installed by foreign powers.

Speaking to the press in Tokyo Wednesday, Darl McBride, the CEO of SCO Group, repeated his claims that the Linux operating system has source code lifted from Unix.

He also denied reports that he had come to Japan specifically to meet members of the newly-formed Consumer Electronics Linux Forum.