open source

Google's shares have fallen 15% in the last three months while the S&P 500 has traded flat. This share price decline seems odd when contrasted with the spectacular success Google has been experiencing with its Android mobile OS. But there are good reasons Wall Street isn't impressed.

A few months ago, Oracle rocked the Internet world by suing Google for patent infringement based on the Android mobile operating system's use of Java. Now, Google has laid out its defenses, and its countersuit might well invalidate Oracle's Java patents altogether.

Clouds float free, but customers using cloud computing services are often nailed down by proprietary software. Not for long: This week, No. 2 cloud services provider Rackspace Hosting said it will join forces with NASA to make their software open-source in an initiative called OpenStack.

Hate the big bad wolf, Microsoft? Tempted to dump the MS Suite and adopt open-source freeware instead? Then you might want to consider the words of Michael Meeks and his concern about the future of OpenOffice. OpenOffice is a suite of programs that carry out the same tasks as the full Microsoft...

I live in Portland, Oregon, where open source is not just the favored software methodology but a way of life. Yet despite my buddies sporting their Linux user group laptop stickers, I was desperately afraid. It sounded hard. It sounded geeky.Then I needed a new laptop. I was going freelance and...

It's easy for consumers to bash Microsoft. Even though the company has probably done more for the advancement of computer technology than any other company, it's also done plenty to hamper development. Microsoft is seen as the big bully on the playground. The company dominates the markets and...