Canonical puts Ubuntu on Android smartphones

Canonical has revealed Ubuntu for Android, a dual-OS concept that allows a smartphone to be used as a desktop when docked.  Ubuntu for Android features a full version of the open source desktop OS working alongside Google's mobile OS.

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Apache 2.4 Delivers More Performance

After 17 years of existence, the Apache HTTP web server is one of the most successful and dominant open source projects of all time. Today Apache is looking to extend that streak of success with the new Apache 2.4 web server release, marking the first major Apache web server update since the 2.2 release in 2005.

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Google, Microsoft butt heads over IE privacy skirting

Google yesterday countered Microsoft's contention that it's skirting Internet Explorer's privacy protection, saying it's "impractical" to comply with IE's rules.

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EuroParliament to exclude Free Software with patents and FRAND

The European Parliament Consumer Committee is on the verge to reform the standardisation process in Europe. The reform recognises patented interface specifications which discriminate Free Software implementations. Royalties over standards create an unavoidable barrier of entry in the market for small software companies and independent developers.

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Litigation between SCO and IBM to resume

Litigation between IBM and disgraced UNIX vendor SCO is set to be reactivated, Groklaw reports. The lawsuits, which were subject to an automatic stay imposed by the bankruptcy court, will now go forward and finally be brought to a close.

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NASA Powers Down Final Mainframe in Open Modernization Move

Ever on the cutting edge among government agencies, NASA announced it has shut down its last mainframe to complete its move to smaller, distributed systems running Linux and other systems.

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Automotive open-source OpenXC from Ford launched in India

To address the growing Indian Automotive electronics market, Ford Motor has demonstrated its open source platform for automotive electronics named OpenXC at the NASSCOM India Leadership Summit, Ford has demonstrated the potential of open-source application development for the automobile.

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Open APIs fall far short of open source

A new-ish meme is floating around the tech sector these days that has caused more than a little bit of consternation for advocates of free and open source software: the idea that open APIs are somehow the equivalent of open source.  If you think of vendor lock-in like addictions, then proprietary software is like crack, open core is like X, and on down the line. Open APIs are far less addictive on the lock-in scale: perhaps at the level of cigarettes--but they can still hook you in.

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EFF promises new fight against software patent abuse, but ...

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has long been at the forefront of fighting software patent abuse with its Patent Busting Project, is promising to launch a new initiative called "Patent Fail: In Defense of Innovation."

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Microsoft flags Google.com as malware

Computers running Microsoft's anti-virus and security software may be flagging google.com — the world's most-visited website — as malicious, apparently due to a faulty Valentine's Day security update shipped by Microsoft.

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