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The author of a study accusing Linus Torvalds and others in the open-source movement of "stealing code" and of taking credit where it wasn't due nevertheless says he is pro-open source and is calling for a $5 billion government initiative to develop more of it. The study, written by Kenneth Brown, p...

If I write a novel about a boy wizard attending a wizarding school, and I never read or heard about someone else's copyrighted novel about a boy wizard attending a wizarding school, does my novel infringe on the copyright of that other novel? Not if I can prove that somehow I missed the Harry Potter...

My server has been getting a lot of hits lately from searches that request things like "windows vs. Unix term paper." On the one hand, I suppose this reflects increased academic interest in Unix. On the other, it does make me wonder about the marking keys used to judge a student's success in differe...

In the United Kingdom today, HP unveiled a new round of desktop PCs, offering customers a choice between Mandrake Linux 9.2 and Microsoft Windows XP as default operating systems. The company described the new HP Compaq Business Desktop dx2000 as a simple, inexpensive business computer designed to me...

New research once again confirms that Linux and open-source acquisition costs are a "fraction" of the cost of comparable proprietary options -- but the research adds a new caveat, noting that costs will be driven lower in coming years. Today, savings from Linux are often "offset by high integration,...

What is the safest advice an intellectual property attorney can give clients concerned about potential litigation? "Do absolutely nothing." The truth is that making or selling any products might get you sued for patent infringement. Advertising might get you sued for trademark infringement. And don'...

Tokyo-based VA Linux Systems last week launched a collaborative development project with NTT Data to develop a crash-analysis tool for Linux. According to the companies, this tool will provide crash-related data and crash analysis for IT departments. The project aims to have the tool in circulation ...

Developers this week have released the new Linux Kernel 2.6.6 -- a development that observers and participants in the open-source process are calling good news. "The 2.6.6 release is a very good maintenance release, which takes in a lot of the maintenance that has come in from the 2.6.1 kernel all t...

Novell this week released the first public beta version of its Mono 1.0 software -- the company's planned alternative to Microsoft's .NET platform. Novell took over the Mono project when it acquired open-source software vendor Ximian in August 2003, and the issues inherent in the merger were said to...

Is the legal strategy embraced by SCO Group a "good faith" effort to protect its intellectual property? Or a project to boost the share price on the Lindon, Utah, software firm? A new article, in the current issue of Fortune Magazine, one of the leading business publications in the United States, ra...

SCO Group is laying off employees at its Santa Cruz office, prompting speculation as to the real motive for the move throughout the Linux industry, LinuxInsider has learned. Competitors queried by LinuxInsider said they had not heard of the layoffs previously and found them "interesting." A report i...

Is Linux suitable for mission-critical applications at large firms? A recent report by Forrester Research says so. So do other experts. But there are still some skeptics. This spring, Forrester surveyed 150 IT decision-makers at North American companies about their open-source software strategies. H...

In going through a stack of resumes last week, I came across one from a person, certified as expert by both Microsoft and Cisco, who claimed to have "architected secure network solutions" at a previous employer. When I recovered from the consequent daydream about flying lead balloons, I decided to s...

Major vendors, like HP and IBM, are embracing Linux. Does that mean that Linux is no longer, practically speaking, free? Some technology experts -- even those keen on Linux -- have widely differing opinions. In an interview with the Australian IT press, Steve Vamos, the managing director for Microso...

Red Hat chose London as the location to launch its new Linux software that is bundled with security and management features. The new product, Red Hat Desktop, is targeted at organizations that are looking to upgrade their PCs but don't want all the features that ship with the latest version of Micro...