Samba savages Novell-Microsoft agreement

Open source organisation Samba has hit out at the Novell-Microsoft deal, saying the agreement would undermine the General Purpose Licence (GPL) and make it more difficult to defend open source against software patents. 'The GPL makes it clear that all distributors of GPL'd software must stand together in the fight against software patents,' the Samba team wrote in an open letter. 'Only by standing together do we stand a chance of defending against the peril represented by software patents. ...more

Game on at the Barbican

London's Barbican Gallery is to host an exhibition celebrating 40 years of computer gaming. The show is the most comprehensive ever attempted, covering the cultural impact of computer games from 1962 to 2002. There will be the opportunity to see the first ever arcade game, Computer Space, from 1971, as well as original artwork and prototypes of numerous titles. ...more

Novell announces Q1 results

Microsoft's half a billion dollar payout swelled Novell's coffers in its Q1 results. During the quarter, Novell received a $448mn cheque from Microsoft, settling its complaints around NetWare, which were part of the EU investigation. Revenues for the quarter were at $290mn, compared with $267mn for the corresponding quarter last year. ...more

Sony counts the cost of a Blu-ray PS3

Sony's decision to equip next-year's PlayStation 3 with its new Blu-ray optical disc drive will not come cheap. At the Games Developer Conference Europe it was revealed that the drives will cost around $100 each, several times more than the cost of a standard DVD drive. The cost will either have to be met by Sony or passed on to the anticipated millions of PS3 buyers. ...more

Prisons go online

The Home Office will tomorrow launch online virtual tours with a new Internet service: Prisons Online. Experience the terror of incarceration, the demeaning daily grind and the thrill of release from a UK prison. The interactive service is intended to be educational, however, rather than entertaining and should help those facing prison and their families find out about how to stay in touch and arrange visits as well as serving to give some idea of what one can expect on the inside. ...more