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The idea of Open Source is for the community at large to help improve the project and for computer software to be made available for free public download without the problems of copyright in most retail software.

Today things have changed and become more confusing thanks to a U.S. federal appeals court that has ruled something that sounds strange to most people.

The judge ruled that open-source groups can protect their code under copyright laws, and this is a ruling that other open-source groups can use.

Software companies like Microsoft, normally keep software code secret while Open-source software makers like to share the source code for improvements.

When we look closer at this ruling it seems that most open source developers will like the results. Individuals who do not follow conditions set out in the open-source license should be open to copyright infringement claims. This is now possible thanks to the ruling.

Read the full story via the read link below this post or leave a comment with your opinion on Open Source and how it should be protected.

Source: Read

Things are beginning to heat up in the world of open-source mobile systems, as a number of companies have launched seven more cell phones which are based on the LiMo (Linux for Mobile) software platform.

With these seven new phones, the total number of LiMo phones now stands at 21.

The new phones have been launched by Motorola, NEC and Panasonic, with NEC launching the most. Firstly there is the Motorola Motozine ZN5, then we have Panasonic Forma P906i and P706i? and finally the NEC Forma N906i, N906i?, N906iL and N706i.

A few of these cell phones feature the forthcoming 2.0 release of the Linux-based mobile platform, this gives you higher resolution displays along with 3G/High-speed downlink packet access. Other features include mobile TV, GPS as well as advanced video streaming.

LiMo is one of many Linux-based mobile alternatives to the forthcoming Google Android.

Source

The computer users of the world have been getting more interested in open source and free software for some time now and Microsoft’s new Equipt subscription service is aimed at defending the Office franchise.

As we reported the other day, the pricing model for Equipt will be $69.99 per year and you get a lot of software for the money that can be accessed by up to three computers.

Circuit City have got the exclusive rights to Equipt beginning mid-July and it’s hoped by Microsoft that the convenience of Equipt will stop some Office users moving towards the open source or free software route.

There is a lot of competition for Microsoft and that’s why this new service was needed to keep them in the game, as IBM is offering Lotus Symphony free and also other brands have similar free Office software packages.

The sales results for Office products have shown a downward pattern and the last quarter saw Office products among consumers drop 39%.

Will you use the new Equipt subscription service or do you have another favorite?

Written by Daniel for Product Reviews
In Sections: Computers, Software
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The world of software for computers, cell phones and other gadgets has been changing to benefit the consumer for a while now and today change is moving faster than ever. Thanks to the world of Open Source we have many options to get great software for free, sadly not every consumer knows this and still decide to buy software that can be downloaded in a similar form for free thanks to Open Source.

There are many factors to think about when considering Open Source vs. For Profit software, but one of the biggest and prominent examples of free software and open source development would be the Linux operating system. This alternative to Microsoft Vista is free and if you get it installed with laptops then you will save a lot of money off the price, just look at the Eee PC.

You may not want to change all the underlying source code of Linux, but if you choose that option, you can. There are some benefits to buying Vista, but are these still worth the price compared to today’s versions of Linux?

Open Office is another software package that is available thanks to open source, this project gives you some free to download software that’s compatible with all other major office suites. This software is packed with features including databases, graphics, presentations, spreadsheets and word processing. You are able to read and write files from some of the top office software packages.

When it comes to the cell phone world it has been rocked since the launch of the Apple iPhone and this has a lot to do with the expandability of the device and with the 3G iPhone coming this year, things will only get better. When it comes to phones another application is about to rock that world and this will b from the Open Handset Alliance.

This is a group of more than 30 mobile and technology companies, they have joined to give the very first “complete, open and free mobile platform”. When Google Android hits the market later this year we will see it become a direct competitor to the iPhone, what will the outcome bring?

Open source will keep growing and as it makes its way to more devices in our homes like Linux, the user will want more open source software for the savings it brings. How has Open Source affected your life?

Written by Daniel for Product Reviews
In Sections: Computers, Software
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VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the launch of a beta version of the VIA Linux Portal as part of an initiative designed to extend collaboration with the Open Source community.

The VIA Linux Portal will initially offer graphics drivers for the VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset for the new Ubuntu 8.04 LTS distribution. Documentation and source code for these drivers will be released over the coming weeks, with official forums and bug tracking scheduled for implementation later this year. The VIA Linux Portal will also adhere to a regular release schedule that is aligned with kernel changes and the release of major Linux distributions.

Sponsored by Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu is released every six months, with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS the latest release in what has been consistently rated among the most popular of the many GNU/Linux distributions in the PC space.

“We welcome the steps being taken by VIA to improve its support to the Open Source community,” said Chris Kenyon, Director of Business Development at Canonical. “We look forward to working with VIA to ensure these drivers get built into Ubuntu by default and that Ubuntu developers and users enjoy a great experience when using VIA platforms.”

“VIA is excited to be taking a more active role within the open source ecosystem,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Opening the VIA Linux Portal is an important step in our long term open source initiative and offering support for Ubuntu, one of the most widely known of the Linux distributions, is an ideal place to start.”

The beta version of the VIA Linux Portal is located at linux.via.com.tw and currently offers driver files for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 1 for the VIA CN896 chipset with two south bridge options.

Written by Daniel for Product Reviews
In Sections: Computers, Press Releases, Software
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