Peter Galli

Network software stalwart Novell Inc. is planning to ship a commercial version of the open-source MySQL database, which has been optimized for its NetWare 6 network operating system, by the end of the year. MySQL, a relational database management system for Web site and business application development and deployment, will also be included in future […]

The feature set for the Linux 3.0 kernel, the next major update to the open source operating system, is close to being finalized and contributors are being told to submit their patches to the list of candidates as soon as possible. In a posting to the Linux kernel mailing list, which was also posted on […]

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday reported a 26 percent surge in revenue to $7.75 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with the same quarter a year earlier, citing broad customer adoption of its multiyear volume licensing programs for the gain. Operating income for the quarter, which is also its first fiscal quarter of the […]

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released a new worldwide lifecycle support policy for almost all of its products currently available through retail purchase or volume licensing and for most of its future products. The policy is effective immediately. The new Support Lifecycle policy, which Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer alluded to in a broad customer e-mail sent […]

Microsoft Corp. announced the development of an information-gathering tool last week that the company claims will bring robust data-capturing capabilities to its Office productivity suite. The tool, XDocs, which is in the alpha stage of development, is a smart client. It is a hybrid information-gathering tool that blends the benefits and richness of a traditional […]

In a move to challenge Microsoft Corp.s Exchange, SuSE Linux will later this week announce that its new Openexchange Server will be available in mid-November. The Openexchange Server will combine the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system, an e-mail server and groupware functionalities in what a SuSE spokesman says is an “innovative all-in-one communication and […]

OpenOffice.org, the open-source office desktop productivity software development project, today released a new developer version of OpenOffice.org 1.0 for the Solaris, Windows and Linux operating systems. The new release, which charts the path for future user versions, is ready for developer use and testing and can be downloaded at www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/643. Its release follows the May […]

IBM on Tuesday will unveil AIX 5L Version 5.2, an upgrade to its Unix server operating system that will enable new and existing IBM eServer pSeries systems to divide into smaller “virtual” servers running either Unix or Linux. The new software will allow administrators to create virtual servers on dynamic partitions that are as small […]

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday launched a more comprehensive program to help drive customers away from Unix and onto the Windows platform. While Microsoft has previously offered individual tools to help in this regard—such as its Services for Unix software, which allows greater operability between existing Unix-based enterprise systems and Windows on both the server and […]

Retail businesses can operate in hundreds, even thousands, of dispersed geographic locations and be staffed by employees with little, if any, IT training. But slim profit margins force IT directors to keep costs as low as possible. Some retail operations are turning to Linux, the open-source operating system that, unlike commercial operating systems, comes with […]