Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is in late beta and brings improvements in both speed and Microsoft Office compatibility to the popular open-source office suite, but some free software fans are objecting to its use of Suns Java. OO.o (OpenOffice.org) 2.0 has been designed, according to its concept document, StarOffice/OpenOffice.org “Q” Product Concept, to “lower cost of interoperability […]

In Bill Gates WinHEC opening keynote address, he talked about the third decade—the 64-bit decade—of Windows computing and the problems it faces with a lack of software and 64-bit drivers. What I want to know is why anyone who wants a 64-bit operating system today is bothering with Windows in the first place, when 64-bit […]

Microsoft is making friendly noises at the open-source community. Yes, Microsoft. A few weeks ago, Microsoft was a platinum sponsor for the Open Source Business Conference. Then, last week, Microsofts general counsel—the companys top lawyer—Brad Smith called for bridge building between Microsoft and the open-source community. Specifically, Smith said, “Were going to have to figure […]

It has been revealed that Novell picked up 39 important business-to-business electronic commerce and Web services patents from bankrupt Commerce One recently, and the company has declared its intention to use them to protect its open-source offerings. The sale of Commerce One Inc.s 39 Web services patents went to a mysterious high bidder, JGR Acquisition […]

The wheels of justice continue to grind slowly in the legal battles between SCO and IBM over the Unix intellectual property used in open-source Linux. Now in its second year, the case is being heard in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. The SCO Group Inc. and IBM this week clashed over a […]

Linus Torvalds didnt want to change software configuration management tools; however, business and open-source philosophy problems left the Linux founder with no choice but to abandon BitKeeper and create his own system: Git. SCM programs are used to control the flow of updates and track program changes. In a project as large as Linux—more than […]

Linux founder Linus Torvalds has reluctantly created his own software configuration management system, Git, to oversee Linux kernel development. Previously, Torvalds had been using BitMover Inc.s BitKeeper SCM (software configuration management) to manage Linux. “Im pretty well known for not being a huge fan of source control that gets in the way and makes it […]

SCO came close to being delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, but its back to trading as usual as the company has been in told that its back in full compliance with the Nasdaq filing requirements. The SCO Group Inc. has long battled IBM, Novell Inc. and other companies over its IP (intellectual property) and […]

Outlook is a security-hole wolf dressed in an e-mail clients sheep clothing. But many companies still wont, or cant, move from it because Outlook is also their group calendaring and address book application. In short, its a core desktop application for them. This point was driven home to me when I spoke recently at a […]

More and more businesses are using instant messaging. Oh, it may not be with the CIOs blessing, but the numbers dont lie: The Radicati Group claims that 85 percent of all enterprise employees are already using IM. Who can blame them? IM combines the immediacy of a phone call without demanding the sole attention that […]

Good news continues to be hard to find for SCO as it reported, after the markets close, still more losses and revenue decreases in its first quarter of 2005, which ended on Jan. 31. The SCO Group Inc. has been locked in battles with IBM and other companies over its Unix intellectual property rights, whether […]

For more than a year, Sun Microsystems Inc. has inched its way towards the release of an open-source version of Solaris. Still, one piece of the strategy remained on the table: With the SCO Group Inc. owning the underlying code to Solaris, could Sun avoid the legal battles faced by other open-source Unix vendors? However, […]