SCO invites open source people to 'monetize' Linux

In an open letter, SCO boss Darl McBride has publicly berated the open source community for the extended denial of service attacks on the SCO website and called on the community to shun its 'counter-cultural ideals' and join the company in its bid to 'monetize software technology and its underlying intellectual property for all contributors'. Although McBride used much of the letter to justify SCO's intention to charge a licence for its code that it claims is contained in Linux and to vent his anger at the community closing ranks round whoever is assailing the SCO site with DDOS attacks, the underlying message was for Linux contributors to follow SCO's lead. 'It's time for everyone else in the industry, individuals and small corporations, to understand [that few open source software vendors are profitable] and to implement our own business models - something that keeps us alive and profitable,' he wrote. ...more

Microsoft launches Office Small Business Edition 2003

Following the razzamattaz of the official launch of Office 2003, Microsoft has now introduced the Office Small Business Edition 2003, aimed, unsurprisingly, at small businesses. Alongside the familiar applications of Word, Excel and Outlook Microsoft has introduced Publisher and Powerpoint into this edition for the first time. Redmond has also included a basic CRM system with a product called Business Contact Manager. ...more

Broadband debate reaches House of Lords

Words such as IPstream and Datastream have stirred the nodding members into consciousness, as Lord Avebury brings the broadband debate to the House of Lords. In a speech on Tuesday, Lord Avebury voiced concerns over Oftel's broadband review that found the market is still dominated by BT, according to EU benchmarks. 'We want a fully competitive market. ...more

ISPs cut broadband fees

Both of BT's Internet provision arms - BT Openworld and BT Retail - are offering home users free broadband activation and ?50 modems until 31 March. Discounts of up to ?260 are available to business customers. New year price cuts have also been announced by One. ...more

Apple facing pressure for music download dominance

The music industry is gearing up for an explosion in downloading at its annual get together in Cannes. Download services such as Napster, record labels and mobile phone manufaturers all predict that 2005 will be the year in which Apple's dominance of the market for both music downloads, through its iTunes Music Store, and portable devices on which to play them, such as the iPod, will come under real pressure. Some observers believe that where downloaded music is played - on a computer, portable player or phone - will not be the key issue of the year; rather, the battle will be between subscription-based services and those like iTunes which only offer paid-for-downloads. ...more