Sean Michael Kerner

From the ‘Open Source Software Democracy‘ files: There is such a thing as democracy in software – all you need to to is look at the Debian GNU/Linux project. Unlike other Linux distributions like say Ubuntu which is run by a ‘dictator for life’ and isn’t a democracy, Debian’s Project Leader (DPL) is an elected […]

For security researchers, the annual Pwn2own contest is as much about shoring up popular Web browsers as it is about bragging rights. One researcher, Charlie Miller, has a consistent track record of pinpointing vulnerabilities in Apple’s software, and he did not disappoint this year. But the contest’s rules dictate that the researchers turn their findings […]

Could there be a more demanding environment for ruggedized technology than the military? Its gear takes a beating and has to keep on working. The original plan of the Internet was to build a redundant network that could survive a nuclear attack, after all. So if you want to sell to the defense department, your […]

With Cisco’s purchase of Linksys in 2003, the leader in enterprise networking signaled its intent to dive headlong into the home and small-business networking segments. Those efforts continued this week with the introduction of a new lineup of switches targeted at the small and midsized business market. The new Cisco 100-series line will replace an […]

Oracle, Java’s new corporate parent, emphasized its commitment to the popular programming language during the lengthy approval process that finally led to the acquisition of Java’s creator, Sun Microsystems. Part of that commitment is updating and securing the software for the huge community of developers and users. As eSecurity Planet reports, Oracle has been quick […]

Young blood — is that what the Linux kernel needs? Some developers think it is. They worry about older developers slowing up, or becoming so specialized that it can make it tougher for younger contributors to get involved. But others are less concerned. After all, it’s Linux — all are welcome, young or old. Besides, […]

Intel and Nokia, two of the heavyweights of the tech industry, have been partnering on a new mobile operating system that has drawn on the collective talents and wisdom of the open source community. Executives from the two companies took the occasion of the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit to share what they’ve learned from the […]

Linux may be free, but that doesn’t mean that the products and services built on it can’t sparkle. That’s the message from Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation, who looks ahead to a brisk period of growth and improvement in the language as it spreads into a greater array of mobile and […]

IBM today may be thought of as one of the key contributors to a number of high-profile Linux and open source projects, but ten years ago, when the company was just dipping a toe into the open source world, it was a far different story. It took some time — and several mistakes — for […]

With Sun Microsystems now a part of Oracle, it falls to the database and enterprise software colossus to offer support for its new assets. That’s now coming relatively soon following the closing of the two companies’ merger. As a result, and for the first time, Oracle’s quarterly Critical Patch Update includes patches for Sun technology. […]

Gear6 and Schooner may offer proprietary solutions, but they’re also actively contributing to the open source memcached core. Both firms this week are updating their memcached offerings for Web 2.0 applications, adding in features such as native query support and an optimized Linux operating system. But Gear6 and Schooner are also expanding their support beyond […]

From the ‘Apples to Oranges‘ files: Opera made some news yesterday with the announcement that their Opera Mini browser had been approved by Apple for inclusion in the iPhone AppStore. I’ve asked Mozilla in the past if they had plans to develop Firefox Mobile (aka Fennec) for the iPhone and I’ve been told that it […]