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Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft/Novel agreement released

Submitted by
annodomini
annodomini writes: "The SEC has posted the terms (with a few bits omitted for confidentiality) of therecent agreements between Microsoft and Novell, which have sparked so much debate in the Linux community and even led to changes in the GPLv3 drafting process. The three parts of the agreement are the Patent Cooperation Agreement, the Technical Collaboration Agreement, and the Business Collaboration Agreement. There are all sorts of interesting tidbits in here, like exceptions to a patent release for things like Wine, and all but calling OpenOffice a "clone" of Microsoft Office."
Novell

Submission + - Novell goes public with Microsoft Linux deal

Submitted by
InfoWorldMike
InfoWorldMike writes: "On the back of defending the agreement this week, Novell did as promised and published details of its landmark November 2006 Linux partnership agreements with Microsoft. Linux advocates are expected to scour the documents for signs of how the agreement may affect Linux and whether anything in it will put Microsoft or Novell in potential violation of the upcoming version 3 of the GNU General Public license (GPL). The GPL is used in licensing many components of the Linux operating system. Open-source advocate Bruce Perens said he would be looking to see exactly what Novell was given through the deal and whether there is any requirement for the Linux vendor to defend Microsoft's patent claims. "What I'm actually looking for is, to what extent was there a violation of faith?" he said."
Linux Business

Submission + - Novell/Microsoft deal omits OpenOffice.org

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Novell has released the terms of its controversial non-license patent license deal with Microsoft. The deal specifically excludes patent protection for Novell's OpenOffice.org customers.
Data Storage

Submission + - Holographic storage to be commercialized this fall

Submitted by
prostoalex
prostoalex writes: "The Guardian takes a look at the current developments in the world of holographic storage. Despite being available in research for over 40 years, the technology is getting commercialized only now, with InPhase Technologies launching its 600 GB write-once disk and a drive this fall. What avout the price? "The first holographic products are certainly not mass-market — a 600GB disc will cost around $180 (£90), and the drive costs about $18,000. Potential users include banks, libraries, government agencies and corporations.""
Sun Microsystems

Submission + - Win4Solaris? Wow!

Submitted by
nobu1993
nobu1993 writes: "On top of the OpenSolaris and GPL Java moves by Sun, does an integrated Windows capability for Solaris 10 make it a more viable option than Linux as a Vista Alternative? Look at the attention that Apple got with BootCamp. Look at how slow Linux vendors have been to embrace Windows co-existence. Here is the story: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/article/articlevie w/2020/1/7/ Here is the quote from Sun: "The ability for Solaris to host Windows applications is important for our customers," said Marc Hamilton, Vice President, Solaris marketing Sun Microsystems. "Win4Solaris elegantly addresses this need in a way that complements both our Solaris workstations as well as our Sun Ray thin clients. Customers are very excited when they realize they can keep familiar applications and at the same time reduce the vulnerability and cost of their desktop environments." Interesting times, indeed!"
Microsoft

Submission + - Eben on the Microsoft Patent Threat

Submitted by ballmerfud
ballmerfud writes: I am sure that by now everyone is tired of hearing about the Microsoft patent FUD, but Eben Moglen, professor of law and head honcho at the Software Freedom Law Center, touched on this issue just last week in a speech he gave in San Diego. Eben's statement is so eloquent and succinct that it might be worthwhile for those who haven't found it by other means to hear it. In this clip he explains the in-depth mechanics of the MS patent threat and specifically how it relates to the Novell deal. The intent is essentially to threaten open source developers while simultaneously evading any backlash from enterprise customers (and even make a buck from it). This may be nothing new to many here, but Eben explains it beautifully. http://www.redhatmagazine.com/2007/05/14/summit-20 07-eben-moglen-on-microsofts-summer-of-fear/
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Claims Linux Infringes Patents

Submitted by Mr. Fahrenheit
Mr. Fahrenheit writes: According to a story from CNN Money "Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants royalties from distributors and users. Users like you, maybe."

Everyone get out your tinfoil hats and panic, looks like the Microsoft/Novell deal really was a cabal-in-the-making... The article is long on background explanation but pretty short on actual details, no doubt we'll see a slew of these articles Real Soon.
Software

Submission + - The sorry state of open source today

Submitted by mdhoover
mdhoover writes: OK, you guys are the wordsmiths, so you can come up with a blurb if you think this is newsworthy...

I can't recall seeing this before on slashdot (did cursory search on authors name and article title but it didn't pop up) though it was published mid april on the JemReport by Radu-Cristian Fotescu

As my friend described it to me in an email, a "Poorly argued yet highly accurate assessment of the state of F/OSS"
I tend to agree

Here's the link (to all 25 pages of it)
http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/309 /122/

It's bound to inspire debate....
Security

Submission + - Vista more secure than Mac OS X

Submitted by myfootsmells
myfootsmells writes: Vista more secure than Mac OS X. In a recent interview Dino Dai Zovi, the New York-based security researcher who took home $10,000 in a highly-publicized MacBook Pro hijack has declared the code quality, at least in terms of security, to be much better overall in Vista than Mac OS X 10.4. and praises Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) at making this possible suggesting more vendors follow their lead.

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