Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

I just dont get it. How can people still think that Linux doesnt belong in the enterprise? Surely these people cant be serious? Now, Windows, thats another matter. You dont have to buy Linux hype. Just look at what CIOs are already doing with Linux. According to both Gartners and IDCs most recent server surveys, […]

The sales of Sun Microsystems Inc.s StarOffice productivity suite are a shadow of Microsoft Offices. Still, prospects looked brighter Thursday as Sun announced that German OEM software distributor Markement GmbH has sold more than a million copies of StarOffice. Markement, based in Stuttgart, Germany, sells StarOffice both as a standalone program and as part of […]

Theres nothing new about IP insurance, but New York-based Open Source Risk Management LLC (OSRM) is the first company to specifically target helping companies deal with open-source IP risks. Daniel Egger, founder and president, announced at San Franciscos Open Source Business Conference this week that the company will launch its consulting service immediately to be […]

Besieged in Europe, where it recently has had to cease doing business in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Lindows.com Inc. has submitted a motion to the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington asking the court to halt the flood of global trademark lawsuits Microsoft Corp. has filed against it. While Lindows.com has […]

So, we discovered on Thursday that Microsoft talked to BayStar Capital on SCOs behalf months before the investment house brokered a deal that led to SCO getting a cool $50 million round of funding. Well, well, well. And recently, when SCO finally announced a real, live customer for its Linux IP license, it turned out […]

Is open sourcing Java a good idea for Sun? I think the answer is an unequivocal yes. I also think that the chances that Sun will actually open source it, especially since IBM suggested it is some where between slim and none. Darn it. I mean, come on, Sun has been flipping and flopping about […]

Editors Note: There are two sides to every story, including the battle over Linux. To help crystallize the issues, we asked two of our columnists to take extreme positions to help clarify the upcoming court battles. Steven Vaughan-Nichols pro-Linux commentary follows. Dont miss the other side though. Rob Enderle takes the pro-SCO position in his […]

Is there always fire where theres smoke? In the open-source community, the rumor that just wont die claims that Microsoft Corp. is funding The SCO Groups legal actions against Linux. On Thursday, those allegations rose again with reports of a memo that links Microsoft with a financial backer of SCO. The rumors center around a […]

After several weeks of waiting, the U.S. District Court in Utah on Wednesday ruled in the SCO-IBM case on The SCO Group Inc.s motion to compel IBM to reveal its AIX code and IBMs motion to compel discovery of the Unix code SCO claims has been taken by IBM and placed in Linux. The result? […]

EV1Servers.Net this week told its users that it had their interests in mind when it signed an intellectual-property license with The SCO Group Inc. to use Red Hat Linux. However, that hasnt stopped some of those users from threatening to leave the Web-hosting company over the deal. On EV1Servers.Nets user forums, a vocal minority of […]

The SCO Group Inc. announced on March 3 that it filed suit against AutoZone Inc. for allegedly violating SCOs Unix copyrights through its use of Linux. AutoZone is a Memphis, Tenn.-based auto parts chain that trades on NASDAQ and is a member of the Fortune 500. SCOs lawsuit announcement came immediately before the AutoZones second […]

The SCO Group Inc. reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.25 million, or 16 cents per share, after paying preferred dividends, compared with a loss of $724,000, or 6 cents per share, a year ago. In addition, revenue for the quarter, ending Jan. 31, fell from $13.5 million to $11.4 million. SCOs gross revenue for […]