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Bad economy boosts open source

Lezette Engelbrecht
By Lezette Engelbrecht, ITWeb online features editor
Johannesburg, 30 Mar 2009

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Bad economy boosts open source

Open source offerings and associated services are getting better and starting to seem less risky, while IT budgets are shrinking. Result? What's bad for economy is clearly good for open source, writes CMSWire.

A recent survey shows that Web content management is one of the prime "targets" for disruption by open source.

The latest 'Future of Open Source' survey was revealed at the InfoWorld's Open Source Business Conference last week. The survey was conducted with 435 respondents and focused on topics surrounding open source software such as the impact of the economic recession, key market drivers, and predictions.

New legal outlook for open source

Open source software companies are missing out on a relatively inexpensive way to fight concerns about patent liability, according to an attorney who spoke at an open source conference in San Francisco last week, states NetworkWorld.com.

More open source companies should be asking the US Patent and Trademark Office to re-examine patents that may pose a threat to them, as a cheaper, sometimes more suitable alternative to waging a patent lawsuit, said Van Lindberg, an attorney with Haynes and Boone LLP, who spoke at Infoworld's Open Source Business Conference.

Fears about patent litigation have plagued both open source companies and their customers, and stem from patent trolls as well as competitors.

Oracle, HP bid for Sun

Oracle and Hewlett-Packard are believed to have made a joint offer for Sun Microsystems in a deal totalling more than $2 billion, according to Channel Register.

Under the deal, database giant Oracle would have taken Sun's software portfolio for $2 billion, leaving HP with Sun's vast Solaris, Sparc, and x86 server products, manufacturing and distribution, and user base.

A potential deal between the three is understood to have been blocked by IBM, in the middle of talks, to buy the whole of Sun for a reported $6.5 billion.

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