When choosing group calendaring and scheduling software, many organizations adopt o­ne of the well-established commercial packages like Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Lotus Notes, or Novell GroupWise. Their perceived simplicity is appealing: you don't have to think about file formats or write configuration files for server software. However, by choosing an application that is built to comply with Internet standards, you can eliminate the risk of being locked into a client whose features don't meet your organization's needs, while maximizing the flexibility and interoperability of your calendaring software.

City of Industry, CA --(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 01/24/2005 - Open source development news provided by Financial News USA (OTC: FNWU). In a survey of business users by Forrester Research Inc. (NASDAQ: FORR), 52% said they are now replacing Windows servers with Linux. o­n the desktop side, IDC sees Linux' share more than doubling, from 3% today to 6% in 2007, while Windows loses a bit of ground. IDC expects the total market for Linux devices and software to jump from $11 billion last year to $35.7 billion by 2008. IBM (NYSE: IBM) alone has 600 programmers dedicated to Linux, up from two in 1999. There's even a board of directors that helps set the priorities for Linux development.

Both IBM and Hewlett-Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ) are demonstrating that they can benefit from embracing the open-source philosophy of sharing work. By collaborating o­n the operating system, they all get a stable foundation o­n which to build tech projects and save millions in programming costs. The growth of Linux and open source development is shaking up the technology industry, challenging Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) dominance and offering up a new model for creating software.

Linux desktop shipments to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will increase at 39 percent compounded annually between now and 2008, at which time six percent of all SMB desktop-PCs will be running Linux, according to a research finding from AMI-Partners Inc. Additionally, by 2008, 4.2 percent of all "PC-owning" SMBs will have adopted Linux desktops (see chart below), according to the report.

ts appeal shot down, Microsoft says it will begin complying immediately with EC penalties, including offering a version of Windows to OEMs with Media Player unbundled by January. eWEEK.com editor Matthew Broersma writes . . .


A European Union judge has denied Microsoft Corp. a reprieve from the antitrust penalties imposed by the European Commission in March--a serious blow to Microsoft's case. Microsoft said it would begin complying with the order immediately.

In a 91-page decision issued o­n Wednesday morning, Judge Bo Vesterdorf, the president of the EU's Court of First Instance (CFI), said Microsoft had failed to prove its case. "The application must therefore be dismissed in its entirety," he wrote.

The decision forces Microsoft to sell a version of Windows without bundling Windows Media Player and to reveal secret communications protocols. While Microsoft may still appeal the CFI's decision with the European Court of Justice, the company said it will begin complying right away.

Aside from its immediate effects, the legal opinion handed down by Vesterdorf, a senior figure in the EU's legal world, is expected to have a profound influence o­n future EU competition cases. Microsoft is expected to appeal the decision with the European Court of Justice.

"This is a great victory for free software," said Carlo Piana, a partner at Milan law firm Tamos Piana & Partners, which represents the Free Software Foundation Europe, an open-source group that is opposing Microsoft in the case. "It is a straightforward demonstration that we were completely right. The market is desperately awaiting these kinds of remedies." . . .

Robert McMillan examines the business case for desktop Linux in an article published by IDG News Service. "It's o­ne of the perennial questions facing the open source movement: Is Linux ready for the corporate desktop? Ready or not, Linux is coming," McMillan writes.

The article notes that, according to IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky, Linux was the number two desktop operating system in 2003. Additionally, the article gives examples of companies and government organizations adopting Linux as a desktop OS, and lists some strengths and limitations of desktop Linux as a substitute for Windows in such situations.

A June 2003 Gartner study is also referenced, which cautioned that increased staffing costs may mitigate some of the benefits (especially reduced software acquisition costs) of switching from Windows to Linux.