Linus Torvalds said that he won't convert Linux to version 3 of the General Public License, as he objects to digital rights management provisions in the proposed update.
Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, proposed changes to General Public Licence at a public forum on Tuesday but made clear that provisions to protect users from patent litigations will remain intact.
Sun Microsystems is considering a dual-licensing move that could raise tantalising possibilities of open-source cooperation between Linux and Sun's Solaris operating system, but legal issues complicate the possibility.
Provisions against digital rights management in a draft update to the General Public Licence could undermine computer security, Linus Torvalds said this week in e-mails reflecting the Linux leader's pragmatic philosophy.
Sun has backtracked on previous plans to release important backup features for its MySQL database under a proprietary licence, following widespread criticism from the open-source community.
General Public License governing heart of popular open-source OS is being updated to deal with patents, other issues. But it'll be a struggle.
Industry watchers claim Sun Microsystems is playing a dangerous game with its decision to position Solaris as open source -- a move which will see it go head to head with Linux.
SCO's strategy for its lawsuit against IBM could destroy the legal foundation of Linux and related software.
As pictures of contested Linux code make their way online, open-source enthusiasts are bashing The SCO Group for its claims that the code shows it has legal rights over the OS.
The growing popularity of Linux will force Microsoft to bring its software to the Unix clone starting in late 2004, a research firm has predicted in a study that Microsoft promptly disputed.
Red Hat and Intel have settled a licensing hiccup that threatened to prevent the Linux company from contributing to Intel's open-source project--a reminder of the frictions that can arise between the commercial tech world and the open-source community.
The growing popularity of Linux will force Microsoft to bring its software to the Unix clone starting in late 2004, a research firm has predicted in a study that Microsoft promptly disputed.
Software engineer Don Soegaard writes that the GNU/Linux community can shelve its ambitions to challenge Windows if it keeps failing to develop easier-to-use productivity tools for desktop users.
Intel is working on Linux support for Centrino, its package of chips for mobile computers with wireless networking abilities, but the company hasn't yet decided how or when to release it.
Databases are by no means an easy product category to understand. Many of the big players now offer free or "light" versions of their databases, but comparing them all is no easy task -- as we found out.
History of British PCs
The cash-strapped UK National Museum of Computing is home to an exhibition of the evolution of British PCs.… Watch it now
In this exclusive video interview, Optus chief information officer Lawrie Turner speaks to ZDNet.com.au about being the IT head for Australia's number two telco.
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