Google Android is handily beating both Apple and Microsoft in the race to control the smartphone market. Yet, each company is responding to this threat in very different way, but with the same weapon: the open standards of HTML5.…
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Symbian: A Lesson on the Wrong Way to Use Open Source
Nokia hoped to revive Symbian's importance by reinvigorating its developer base in light of a rush of Linux-based operating platforms like Android and LiMo. It hoped in vain and a lack of source code is the foundation for many its problems.…
Read MoreJava Is Under Siege. Will Oracle Let It Burn?
There was a time when Java ruled the enterprise computing world, and showed signs of dominating the mobile world, too. That time is gone. It's not that developers have abandoned Java wholesale, but given recent moves by apple, Oracle and Google there is room for concern.…
Read MoreThe iPhone’s Challenge to Open Source
Freedom-loving developers have long used open-source licenses as a tactic to maintain the open availability of their source code. With the rise of closed hardware/software platforms like Apple’s iPhone, however, that tactic is being challenged. And that may not be a bad thing.…
Read MoreLinux Starts to Eat Microsoft’s Lunch in Servers
For years, Linux has grown at the expense of expensive Unix like Solaris, but a new study shows Linux gaining at Windows expense for the first time, and not because Linux is cheaper. Rather, survey respondents cite Linux's "technical superiority," which may be a hard argument for Microsoft to counter.…
Read MoreAndroid: Swimming With the Patent Sharks
Google Android is under fire from Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle, but only Oracle's suit seems motivated by truly defensive motives. Apple and Microsoft want to throttle Android adoption to improve their odds while Oracle may want to keep Google from trashing its Java ME licensing business.…
Read MoreApple and Oracle Must Let Developers Have Their Say
While Apple and Oracle have enjoyed tremendous success with their integrated suite approaches to business, the open 'read/write' model that open source encourages provides a better platform for third-party developers and promises to be the basis of successful startups, not to mention national economies.…
Read MoreLibreOffice: An Idea Whose Time Has Come (and Gone)
The OpenOffice community has staged a coup against project owner Oracle, but to what effect? The Document Foundation promises little more than a tired retread on an outdated office productivity meme. It's time for the open-source community to ditch OpenOffice and instead embrace the web.…
Read MoreNovell’s Patents Are Complicating Its Sale
Novell has put itself on the auction block, but a deal has been slow in closing. According to sources close to the company, this likely stems from the difficulty of accurately assessing the value of Novell's patent portfolio in conjunction with its legacy product portfolio and associated business.…
Read MoreShould Android be Startups’ First Choice?
As Android veers toward domination of the mobile market, Apple's iOS lead may soon take a hit. Google still needs to iron out some wrinkles like hardware fragmentation, but Android's open approach and growing market share mean it should be a startup's first choice mobile platform.…
Read MoreShould Skype Be Cisco’s Gateway Drug?
With 560 million registered users (124 million of which are active), but only 8.1 million paying customers, Skype could use some help. Cisco makes a great deal of sense as a buyer, because it can monetize Skype's user base in a way that Skype never could.…
Read MoreApple Doesn't Target Markets. It Targets People
It's fascinating to watch enterprise adoption of Apple technology given its apparent disdain for this market. According to The Wall Street Journal, businesses are tripping over themselves to justify iPad purchases, just a few years after they resisted the rise of Mac and rejected the iPhone.…
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