Opera Seeks Tougher Remedy in Microsoft Case, Dec 16, 2007

Opera argues that because each version of Windows comes with only IE preinstalled, Microsoft has an unfair advantage against rivals like Opera and Firefox.

Businesses will soon be able to try out a new product from Ingres that aims to reduce maintenance work by combining the company’s open-source database with a version of Linux from rPath.

The next Linux distribution that IBM throws its weight behind is likely to be China's Red Flag Linux, suggesting that for businesses elsewhere in the world the Linux market will remain a two-horse race for the time being.

Red Hat Inc. has pushed out the first public beta of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, an upgrade to its operating system that includes virtualization technologies intended to help companies get more use from their hardware.

IBM Corp. hopes to do for its Power processor what it helped do for Linux: create a bigger market in which lots of vendors can play, and earn more money for IBM in the process

Oracle Corp. gained ground in the worldwide relational database market last year to draw roughly level with IBM, thanks in part to Oracle's strong performance in the fast-growing Linux segment, according to new figures from Gartner Inc.

MySQL AB has released the first beta version of a major upgrade to its open-source database, adding several features designed for corporate users.

A new Linux project aimed at simplifying complex tasks on the open-source OS has been given 2.2 million euros (£1.54m) in funding from the EU.

Microsoft is developing versions of Windows with only a subset of its code base, designed for specific server tasks. The intention is to reduce maintenance costs and create products that are less vulnerable to attack.

The new "role-based" products may appear in 2007, when the server version of Longhorn is scheduled for release. Offering a smaller code base would mark a significant technical shift for Microsoft and could help it to better address the competitive threat posed by Linux. But it also presents significant engineering challenges for the company, industry analysts said.