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Palm will ship Linux-powered mobile phones this year, say sources claiming to be close to the company. The devices will be powered by Wind River Linux, and pending carrier reaction, may well be the first Linux-powered handsets distributed widely within the US. So far, Linux mobile phones have proliferated primarily in Asia, where mobile network build-outs have been larger and arguably more advanced than in the US, in part because some Asian countries lack significant last-mile copper infrastructure. Strong sales of Linux handsets in Japan helped Linux surpass Windows Mobile in handset OS shipments earlier this year, according to Gartner. Still, Symbian remains the leader among "complex" phone OSes, and is expected to gain marketshare over the next several years, while Linux and Windows Mobile will also grow, studies from both IDC and Gartner suggest.

The trend in RSS adoption sees consumers moving toward invisible services such as My Yahoo! and tools built into the browser such as Firefox’s Live Bookmarks. Accordingly, dedicated services with power tools for aware users must bring added value to the table. The home-page+RSS is an added value package, as is browser+RSS. Stand-alone sites and desktop programs that offer sheer RSS functionality, powerful though they may be, are threatened with marginalization. It is in this environment that Google launches its Goog

So many web services use free software, yet the services themselves, their organization and management, are closed. When will we see a web service that is literally owned by its users, like a cooperative? Or is one already flourishing somewhere?

Queue Linux fanfare, the 2006 version of Mandriva Linux is now available, albeit currently only to club members and distributors. Mandriva Linux Mandriva Linux (known best as Mandrake Linux) is one of the most popular “user-friendly” distros of Linux available. The developers of Mandriva have always sought to make ease of use a high priority, and have for the most part done a pretty good job of that. Not too long ago, three distros known as Mandrake, Lycoris and Conectiva joined together to form Mandriva. This release is the first update since then, and brings with it a lot of hardware support that was needed. Being a club member isn't free, but eventually it will be released for free as all the others.

Mozilla Corp. released the second beta of its next browser, Firefox 1.5, Friday to testers and developers. Although there are no new features included in Beta 2, Mozilla said the follow-up to September's Beta 1 includes improvements in the automatic update system, performance and site rendering enhancements, and fixes for several security problems. A complete list of the fixes and changes to Beta 2 can be viewed on the Burning Edge Web site.

Move could speed resolution of SCO Group's hot-button Linux-related suit against Big Blue.

Freedom is just another word for nothing to buy

Review:Beta 1.5 of the open-source Thunderbird e-mail client is looking a lot better, but it still lacks calendar functions.

This comment refers to "Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Beta 2 Released".

Novell has released Suse Linux 10.0, the first distribution based on the OpenSUSE project. Suse Linux 10.0 for x86-compatible 32-bit and AMD64/EM64T-64-bit systems is supplied on 5 CDs or one dual-layer DVD, including a manual and 90 days of installation support for just under 60 euros in stores. The 5 CD or one DVD image as well as a live DVD of Suse Linux 10.0 can also be downloaded for free from Novell and various mirrors without commercial extras and installation support.

Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) today announced the acquisition of Finland-based Innobase OY.

For KDE users and contributors who aren't Jabber addicts yet, a new public Jabber server is available at kdetalk.net.

Oracle acquired Innobase, a company that develops open-source database technology, for an undisclosed sum, marking the software company’s 11th acquisition in less than a year. Innobase is most known for InnoDB, which is a transactional database technology that is distributed as part of the MySQL database, an open-source data management system.

Unisys is putting Open Source Java technologies directly on the mainframe, in a way to let CIOs better let the two environments speak with each other. The idea behind Unisys’ Java-on-the-mainframe architecture for its Clearpath line of mainframes is three-fold: # (1) to improve the scalability, security and transactionlity integrity of J2EE apps; # (2) to make it easier for J2EE and mainframe assets to communicate with one another; and # (3) to provide n-tier Java/J2EE and mainframe developers a “back door” entry point through the mainframe-based J2EE app server to achieve complex (or tricky) updates/changes to mainframe programming.

Red Hat, Inc. (Nasdaq: RHAT), the world’s leading provider of open source to the enterprise, today announced that University of Stirling in Scotland has migrated its SAP application servers, that manage the Human Resources and Payroll functions, to run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The migration has resulted in a three fold improvement in performance and in lower project costs.

The founder of one of the UK's largest independent open source service companies claims that consolidation is likely among European companies that provide services around open source products. Peter Dawes-Huish, the founder and chief executive of LinuxIT, said on Friday his company has had two "serious" acquisition approaches and a number of exploratory discussions with other potential buyers over the last year. He claimed that medium-sized open source vendors and larger companies that are looking to get into the open source market are likely to seek acquisitions to enable growth.

One of the features some users overlook in OpenOffice.org is its built-in programming language, OpenOffice.org Basic. Why would you want a programming language built into your word processor? It's there to help you to automate tasks. It won't make the tea for you, but it will help you to carry out many repetitive jobs with a minimum of effort.

The phrase "open source license" refers to a large number of agreements that license the copyrights inherent in software widely, fairly, and with the fewest restrictions possible. While all open source licenses share similar intentions, each license typically accomplishes its goal by different means. This article, written by Editor in Chief of the Linux Magazine Martin Streicher, describes the tenets of copyright and explains the intents of an open source license.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Ingram Micro Inc., the world's largest distributor of computer products, rose sharply Wednesday after it said it had struck a deal to sell a version of the Linux operating system.

The IBM Information Management group has been taken over by Ambuj Goyal following the retirement (actually she's not gone yet but will be doing so shortly) of Janet Perna. As a result, he and his team have been busy briefing analysts as to the company's plans, particularly at a recent event in Boston.