Study: Open source quicker to debug

An Oxford University study reveals that "bazaar open source software projects" are always quicker to "converge to a bug-free state" than closed source projects. The study will fan the divisive debate over how to make better software, reports Newsfactor.

Japan`s third-ranked mobile phone operator, J-Phone, a subsidiary of Britain`s Vodafone Group, has said it is hoping to launch cellphones featuring a built-in television tuner as early as December, reports AFP.

J-Phone said the handset had been developed by hi-tech giant NEC, but declined to give further details.

Companies will be able to tighten their security by linking their computer networks with their building monitoring systems, as part of a new service from IBM and General Electric (GE), reports AP.

PeopleSoft released more Oracle e-mails yesterday, "which provided another peek at the behind-the-scenes sniping and PR posturing that have spiced the $7.5 billion hostile takeover battle between the two rivals", reports AP.

The news service reports that the internal discourse "captures Oracle executives thumping their chests as they take pot-shots at PeopleSoft and reflects an early Oracle push to sway industry analysts in an apparent attempt to decrease PeopleSoft`s sales and make the hostile bid more appealing".

The service further reports that "virtually all of the most inflammatory snippets" were released last month as part of a PeopleSoft lawsuit against Oracle. The e-mails were made public as part of the civil suit`s discovery process.

Australian communications giant Telstra has become one of the first major customers for Sun Microsystems` new thin-client computing effort, formerly named Mad Hatter.

Mad Hatter, unveiled this week as the Java Desktop System, is a thin-client solution. It runs on Linux and includes Sun`s StarOffice productivity software. It is more flexible than previous thin clients, letting administrators decide how much computing is shifted to servers, reports BusinessWeek.

Microsoft`s top executives all saw slight increases in salary and bonuses last year, according to the company`s annual proxy statement, filed with the US Securities Exchange Commission, reports CNet.

CEO Steve Ballmer and chairman Bill Gates each received $551 667 (R4 million) in pay and $313 447 (R2.3 million) in bonuses last year, up from $547 500 in salary and $205 810 in bonuses a year ago. While Gates and Ballmer received no stock options, other Microsoft executives did.