Open Source Development Labs puts $4mn towards legal fighting fund

The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) has put down $4mn towards an initiative to offer legal support to free and open source software (FOSS) projects. The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) will be headed up by Open Source luminary and copyright lawyer Eben Moglen, sitting as chairman and director-counsel, along with two full-time IP lawyers. A further two full-timers will be recruited later in the year, as well a select few of the cream of recent graduates. ...more

UK games chart: Dead or Alive 4 loses top spot

EA's multi-format street racing game Need For Speed: Most Wanted has regained top spot in this week's ELSPA UK games chart. Last week's number one, Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4 beat 'em up for the Xbox 360, falls to number six. The Sims 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer 5 complete the top three. ...more

Firefox 1.0 released

The Mozilla Organisation has released the first full version of Firefox, on the back of more than eight million download of the preview release. In the space of two months the browser has gone from an also-ran to provide the first challenger in many years to the hegemony of Internet Explorer. According to the latest WebSideStory figures, IE's share of worldwide browser usage has dropped from around 96 per cent to 92 per cent. ...more

Steve Jobs hints at 'media centre' device

Steve Jobs has given the biggest hint yet that Apple will introduce a 'media centre' device. At Apple's AGM yesterday, a shareholder questioned the company's CEO about Microsoft's Media Center software. 'We hear you loud and clear,' Jobs is reported to have replied. ...more

Microsoft sets launch date for Visual Studio, SQL Server and BizTalk Server

Microsoft has set the date for its long awaited release of Visual Studio and SQL Server, the week beginning 7 November. This confirms an announcement from earlier in the year - Microsoft delays major developer tools and database releases. As well as its flagship software development suite, the venerable Visual Studio, and the next-generation version of its enterprise-scale database system, SQL Server, Microsoft will also release its business process management software, BizTalk Server 2006. ...more