News

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  Illuminating the elephant in the open source room

  Microsoft is an elephant that needs to be turned to stop it trampling the open source community, according to a vocal critic of the software giant's approach to software patents.

• Multiple consumer electronics companies hit with GPL lawsuit

  The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) has brought a copyright lawsuit against 14 consumer electronics companies for allegedly violating GNU General Public License (GPL) in the use of GPL-licensed software in their products. Among those named in the suit are Best Buy, JVC, Western Digital Technologies and Westinghouse.

• Repentant Microsoft re-issues Windows 7 tool as open-source

  Microsoft yesterday re-released a Windows 7 installation tool that it admitted included open-source code, and has posted the utility's source code to its own open-source site.

• Lawsuit alleges Palm Pre violates copyright

  Artifex Software is suing Palm over the PDF (Portable Document Format) viewer in Palm's Pre smartphone, it said on Thursday.

• Microsoft: Win7 tool includes GPL code; software will go open source

  Microsoft Friday acknowledged that its Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool does indeed include open source code. To correct the error, the company next week will make the source code and binaries for the tool available under terms of the GPL v2 license.

• Microsoft yanks Windows 7 tool over open-source code swipe

  Microsoft has yanked a tool it touted as a way for netbook owners to install Windows 7 without a DVD drive after a prominent blogger accused the company of using open-source code without acknowledging where it originated.

• MySource Mini CMS goes GPL and into the cloud

  Australian-owned content management company Squiz has released its MySource Mini content management system (CMS) under the general public license (GPL). And in a new twist, the CMS is also available for download as a free VMWare image, which means it can now be offered as a cloud application. The company has partnered with cloud platform provider Rejila.

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  Engineer: Microsoft violated GPL before Linux code release

  Code that Microsoft released Monday for the Linux kernel under the General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) was in violation of that license before Microsoft made it available, according to an open-source network engineer.

• Microsoft makes second GPLv2 release in as many days

  Microsoft has made its second release under the General Public License in two days with software for the open-source online learning system Moodle.

• Microsoft frees Linux drivers; other closed-source vendors to step up?

  Microsoft Corp.'s move to release three of its drivers to Linux, however technically modest it may be, could put pressure on other closed-source vendors to follow suit.

• Microsoft stuns Linux world, submits source code for kernel

  In an historic move, Microsoft Monday submitted driver source code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPLv2 license.

• Legal group releases guide to GPL compliance

  The Software Freedom Law Center, which provides legal help to the free and open-source software community, has released a detailed document that describes how users and vendors can ensure they are in compliance with the open-source GNU General Public License (GPL).