IBM denies re-entering PC market with Russian deal, Mar 11, 2008

IBM has said it is not getting back into the PC market, despite selling "Microsoft-free" PCs running Linux and OpenOffice in Eastern Europe.

Nokia didn't mention the iPhone, but told a disappointed audience at the Mobile World Congress that it is still working on bringing out touch capability to its phones.

The Open Solutions Alliance, a consortium working on interoperability of open-source software, has set up a European chapter due to the high number of community-developed software projects that have sprung up in the region.

Novell has extended a set of development tools so they can be used to write applications and other software for rival Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS.

Bitter political foes South and North Korea are to jointly develop a version of Linux.

Almost a year on from the release of Microsoft's Windows Vista, only 13 percent of companies say they expect to move all desktops to the operating system, according to a survey released this week. Furthermore, adoption of Linux continues to gather pace, with a particular emphasis on the desktop emerging.

Microsoft's claims that open-source software infringes its patents do not apply in the UK, according to a top lawyer.

By 2012, Linux will be running on nearly 31 percent of all smart devices, thanks to a growth rate faster than Windows Mobile and Symbian, according to predictions from a research firm.

A German court has ruled that Skype violated the General Public License version 2 by selling a Linux-based phone without access to the source code.

Xandros' distinctive feature is its effort to carve out a commercial niche as an easy replacement for Windows. "The target audience of Xandros is primarily corporates looking to switch their workstations from Windows NT/2000 to Linux," commented one user on a Debian discussion board. "They've gone to great lengths to mimic the look and feel of Windows for this reason."

Skype's new video phone service will very likely be available for Mac and Linux, the company has hinted. We spoke to James Bilefield, the company's vice president of business development, and pumped him for news about the future direction of the company and its products.

As desktop Linux becomes ever more professional, and with Microsoft still a year away from shipping its new Vista version of Windows, could now be the time to go open-source on the desktop? Of course, circumstances will vary from company to company, but if you're ready to make the move, there's a good crop of Linux distributions ready to accommodate your needs

Is your business ready to take the open source plunge? We test five leading desktop Linux distributions and come up with one winner.

While there is still a lack of specific applications for schools, community development methods will win out, says one open source user group

Open source is going under the microscope in Birmingham, where the City Council has a 'certain degree of scepticism' about its benefits