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The article reports on the fraction of the Linux community over Microsoft Corp.'s claims on open source operating system patent infringement. Paris-based Linux vendor Mandriva is not interested in signing a licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid infringement claims. In addition, Mandriva's declination is followed by Red Hat Inc. and Canonical Ltd. However, in July 2007, Microsoft announced collaboration agreements with Xandros Inc. and Linspire Inc. It is agreed that patent covenants freed them of any charges that their Linux distributions infringe on Microsoft intellectual property.

The article presents information related to the marketing of Linux operating systems. According to Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group Inc. in Franklin, Tennessee, Linux's share of the retail point-of-sale (POS) market is nearing 10%. But, due to Microsoft Corp.'s introduction to a scaled-down version of Windows, the rate of the open-source operating system's gains is slowing. But other analysts and some IT managers believe that after attracting some early adopters, it now has to win over retailers that have invested heavily in Windows technology and Microsoft training for their IT staffers. Mike Prince, ClO at Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., has been running Linux since 2000 on the 362-store clothing chain. Linux has been chosen for its stability, ease of remote administration and similarity to Unix. Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire, noted that many retailers look at the availability of POS applications and equipment, where Windows still has an advantage over Linux, more than they consider the merits of the operating system itself.

The article focuses on the release of many lines of driver code to the Linux community by U.S.-based Microsoft Corp. This move can put pressure on suppliers of closed-source drivers to make similar moves. It will allow the driver to be included in the open-source Linux kernel, thus, makes the installation process much smoother. The drivers enable Linux virtual machines to run on the company's Hyper-V virtualization software.

The article presents the author's opinion about Microsoft Corp.'s paying no real attention to high-performance computing (HPC). He comments on the release of HPC Server 2008 whether it will be efficient operating system in which he compared to the performance of Windows Server 2008 regardless of its capabilities. Furthermore, the author compares the operating system (OS) to other company brands such as Linux and Solaris.

The article reports on the $100 million worth of support vouchers by U.S.-based Microsoft Corp. for Novell Inc.'s SUSE Linux operating system, as part of a partnership deal between them. It is noted that Microsoft Corp. resells the vouches to customers looking to run mixed installations of Windows and SUSE Linux systems. Furthermore, Novell Inc. has signed their patent cross-licensing and software interoperability deal. SUSE Linux support vouchers worth of $157 million are claimed to be redeemed by Microsoft Corp. customers.

An interview with Microsoft Corp. general manager of platform strategy Bill Hilf is presented. When asked about whether he knew beforehand that the company was going to reveal the number of patents that it claims are being infringed by Linux and other open-source applications, he asserts that Fortune magazine did not correctly represent the company's strategy, which is to license and not litigate. Hilf calls on commercial companies to license their intellectual properties to resolve the issues.

The article focuses on Microsoft Corp.'s refusal to identify any of the patents it claims are being infringed by Linux and open-source technologies. According to several intellectual property (IP) attorneys, the refusal is a sign that Microsoft is looking for licensing deals and not legal battles. Mark Wine, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, sees the move as a marketing strategy. According to Paul Lesko, head of the IP litigation group at SimmonsCooper LLC, Microsoft's claims have helped draw the lines for any future patent infringement cases. Open-source and Linux evangelist Eric Raymond poses a dismissive stance on Microsoft's actions. Microsoft's IP vice president Horacio Gutierrez's comments are included.

The article reports on the plan of the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands to test open-source software on desktop computers in two municipal departments on the first half of 2007. According to the city, it does not plan to fully phase out the use of proprietary software, and that the testing would be expected to lead to cutbacks in the scope of its current desktop software contract with Microsoft Corp. A city spokesman disclosed that Linux will be run on their desktop PC's during the first open-source tests.

The article reports on the criticism by Novell Inc. against the statement of Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp., regarding Linux's intellectual property in the U.S. Ballmer has declared that Linux has used their intellectual property which eventually attracted several controversies. Ballmer has asserted that every Linux user has an undisclosed balance sheet liability. Furthermore, according to Russ Donnan, chief information officer at Kroll Inc.'s Kroll Factual Data, Ballmer has postured for mind share to enterprise executives which would have little impact to no impact on information technology executives.

The article reports on the announcement of the Microsoft Corp. concerning a deal to promote the use of Novell Inc. SUSE Linux operating system alongside Windows in mixed server environments. According to the report, Microsoft does not plan to sell or support SUSE Linux under its deal with Novell, but instead, it will recommend the software to Windows users who want to add Linux systems. Microsoft will be purchasing also from Novell and then distribute about 70,000 coupons annually that entitle users to a year' worth of maintenance and support on SUSE Linux.

The article reports that the municipal government of Munich, Germany has begun migrating its computers to Linux operating system. The city had planned to move from Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system to Linux one year back. But due to some delays, this work could start one year late. As the operating system migration work started, the 100 of the city's 14,000 PCs had been switched from Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system and Office applications to Debian Linux and the OpenOffice suite in just a day.

The article reports on the decline in the number of users of the Linux operating system as observed in the conference entitled "Desktop Linux Summit 2006." This shortcoming has limited the open-source software's appeal in the market compared with the Microsoft Corp.'s Window computer programs. Geoff Perlman, CEO of Real Software Inc. has said that the factor to the Linux shortcoming can be traced to the mistaken belief that open-source operating system can be easily substituted for the widely used Windows applications . Majority of computer users also wanted to use the software they are used to using. Moreover, Linux's lack of fully functional applications is an issue that need to be address to be fully competitive in the computer industry.

This article discusses developments in the computer, computer software, and computer services industries. Microsoft Corp. and the Bulgarian National Service for Combating Organized Crime cooperated in an investigation of Internet fraud and the arrest of eight people that used fake Web pages carrying Microsoft logos. The Japanese government will impose 27 percent countervailing duties on the dynamic RAM chips of South Korea-based Hynix Semiconductor Inc. Yahoo! Inc. will open research institutes in Barcelona, Spain and in Santiago, Chile to focus on search-engine results, document categorization, and text mining. A joint venture is being established to promote Asianux's version of the Linux open source operating system.