open-source software

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Open-source and free software fans who despise software patents shouldn't look for an ally in the head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Patent Commissioner Jon Dudas says his office is all about staying "technology neutral," so long as the invention meets certain standards.

"The system we've had has worked to promote technology for 200 years, and it can do that in the software industry, so long as you follow the principles that (a technology) is useful, new, and nonobvious," Dudas said during a wide-ranging interview with CNET News.com … Read more

When writing earlier this week about Adobe's sponsoring of the SQLite project, I ran into a complicated issue: is software released into the public domain also open-source software?

I have an editor who hates headlines with question marks, but I'm afraid this time it's appropriate, because even experts disagree.

For background, software or other material in the public domain simply means that it's not copyrighted. Requirements to meet the official Open Source Definition are listed by the Open Source Initiative. Two programmers, Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens, founded the OSI about 10 years ago to formalize … Read more

Sun Microsystems said Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of open-source database company MySQL for about $1 billion--and now is turning its attention to other acquisitions.

"In my view it's the most important acquisition in Sun's history," Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz said on a conference call Tuesday.

Sun paid about $800 million in cash and $200 million in stock for MySQL. Although it's a big open-source acquisition for the server and software company, it won't be the last, Schwartz said.

"Those companies that have built good high-integrity communities, broad distribution, … Read more

Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux kernel project that's among the best-known open-source threats to Windows, has words of praise for Microsoft's announcement last week that it would share some previously hard-to-get technology with open-source programmers.

"I may make fun of Microsoft occasionally, and yeah, I think they do stupid things at times, but I think this one was a step in the right direction," Torvalds said in an e-mail.

"Could it have been even more? Sure. But give them credit for at least seeming to open up a little, even if it probably was … Read more

Sometime last night, Firefox downloads crossed the 500 million threshold.

It's an arbitrary but interesting milestone for the open-source Web browser, whose development is overseen by Mozilla but that's also developed and extended by a large number of outside programmers. In September 2007, Firefox crossed the 400 million download mark, indicating an average rate a bit shy of 20 million per month at present.

According to the Spread Firefox site, there had been 500,168,448 downloads as of 6:15 a.m. PST. About 12 hours earlier, there had been more than 499,900,000.

Firefox has … Read more

Open-source fans can be a skeptical bunch, but I've seen their collective opinions shift--for example in the gradually diminishing loathing for Sun Microsystems as that company stopped deriding Linux and started moving its portfolio to open-source software.

So it's not a surprise that various representatives had a mixed reaction to Microsoft's move Thursday to share details of its technology with open-source programmers.

The move could make it easier for many projects to work well with Microsoft products and potentially replace them--for example the Thunderbird e-mail software could communicate better with Microsoft Exchange servers and also displace Microsoft … Read more

Over the years, Microsoft statements toward open-source software have ranged from derision and threats to mollification and even cautious praise.

Microsoft's Thursday announcement of a significantly more accommodating approach to open-source programmers is just the latest refinement of the company's ambivalence. At the same time that Microsoft's new arrangement opens up previously secret specifications and protocols for use in open-source software, it also insists that companies planning on distributing or using that software need a patent license.

So to put the news into historical context, here's a chronology of some of Microsoft's statements and practices … Read more

Microsoft made major concessions Thursday that should make it easier for open-source software to dovetail with or even replace Microsoft products, but a major caveat means the company's legal threats remain alive and well.

Microsoft announced a number of moves that could significantly improve its relationship with the open-source world. Among other things, the company said it will share communication protocols that govern how Microsoft software products communicate; pledged not to sue open-source programmers for developing software that uses those interfaces; and launched an Open Source Interoperability Initiative to improve how well open-source software works with its own.

Although … Read more

Cleversafe, a start-up with a new way to protect data by dispersing it across many storage devices, is making the move from prototype to product.

The company's basic idea is to break up data into little bits that are stored on multiple devices, overlapping the bits so it doesn't matter if some devices fail. The approach, which is embodied in open-source software anyone can try, can be used to spread data across multiple storage devices in a rack or multiple data centers across the globe.

And now potential customers can start pricing out equipment to see if it'… Read more