Stories by Joab Jackson

Linux kernel shows growing mobile influence

An increasing number of contributions to the open-source Linux kernel are coming from mobile and embedded equipment vendors, according to an annual report about to be released by the Linux Foundation.

Red Hat acquires Makara

Enterprise open-source software vendor Red Hat has acquired cloud software provider Makara, Red Hat announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ticketmaster unfazed by odd band names

If you can't quite spell Hannah Montana or Boyz II Men you're not alone. But Ticketmaster found it doesn't pay to be too strict about spelling and modified its search engine to accommodate creative alternatives. Managers of enterprise and website search services could do well to follow Ticketmaster's lead.

Google Wave may become an Apache project

Some of the developers behind Google Wave have submitted <a href="http://www.waveprotocol.org/">their software</a> to the Apache Software Foundation for inclusion.

Microsoft nabs OpenStreetMap founder

As part of an initiative to leverage the OpenStreetMap project for its own Bing Maps, Microsoft has hired OSM founder Steve Coast, the company announced Tuesday.

Open-source social network Diaspora goes live

Diaspora, a widely anticipated social network site built on open-source code, <a href="http://joindiaspora.com/">has cracked open its doors</a> for business today, at least for a handful of invited participants.

Acer unveils tablets to run Windows, Android

Acer executives on Tuesday previewed tablet computers planned for release next year, including three Android-based devices and one that runs Windows. They also detailed plans to introduce a portable computer that has the form factor of a laptop but replaces the keyboard with a second touchscreen, allowing users to use a virtual keyboard or some other form of touch-based interface.

Attachmate to feast on Novell technologies

With its pending US$2.2 billion purchase of Novell, Attachmate is acquiring a rich portfolio of technologies. The next step will be actually putting these riches to work, analysts said Monday.

IBM tops Green500 list

While China can take pride in topping the list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, IBM has been given another recognition: building the world's most energy-efficient supercomputer.

Supercomputing Top500 brews discontent

Like Hollywood's Academy Awards, the Top500 list of supercomputers is dutifully watched by high-performance computing (HPC) participants and observers, even as they vocally doubt its fidelity to excellence.

Nvidia chief scientist: CPUs slowed by legacy design

When it comes to power-efficient computing, CPUs are weighed down by too many legacy features to outperform GPUs (graphics processing units) in executing common tasks in parallel, said the chief scientist for the GPU vendor Nvidia.

Oracle responds to Apache Java defiance

Seemingly anxious to get the next version of the Java programming language ratified, Oracle has asked the Apache Software Foundation to reconsider its stance on the proposed Java Standard Edition 7.

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