software developers

Jason Crawforth wants to help you make up your mind. Earlier this month, he and four fellow software developers at Boise, [Idaho]-based MobileDataForce unveiled iMakeDecisions -- an application for Apple's fanatically popular iPhone and iPod touch that provides users with a suite of virtual decision-making tools to help them navigate through any situation.

While the world waits to see if Microsoft will take Yahoo up on its invitation to make another acquisition bid, Redmond on Monday announced another search deal with a different rival: Sun Microsystems.

Microsoft is chasing both Google and Yahoo on the search front. According to comScore, Google owned 63 percent of the U.S. Web search market in August. Yahoo grabbed 19.6 percent, leaving Microsoft with a mere 8.3 percent.

After years of efforts by Google (GOOG) and Amazon.com (AMZN) to spin visions of a future where the Web supplants Windows, Microsoft (MSFT) struck back on Oct. 27. The software giant unveiled what one executive called the most important plan in 16 years aimed at keeping its Windows operating system franchise vital. "What we announced today was much broader than anything anyone has tried before," says Senior Vice-President Robert Muglia.

The Mono project has just released Version 2.0 of its open-source implementation of Microsoft's .NET framework. Mono is both a runtime environment for applications and a kit for developers writing applications with C, as well as other Common Language Infrastructure languages developed by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA).

Though Mono's early use was mostly on Linux desktop applications, over time it has evolved into a cross-platform environment for software developers, noted Miguel de Icaza, cofounder of the GNOME project.

Yes, says Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime. Eventually all devices will be on the network," he told an audience of software developers at a conference of IBM's business partners.

A famous science-fiction novel's title once asked if androids dream of electric sheep. Today, the answer might be that they dream of an Android phone called Dream.

According to a report in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, T-Mobile USA will begin selling the first Android-based phone, called the HTC Dream, by the end of October. The article, which cites unnamed sources "familiar with the matter," said the phone will come out on schedule, despite some recent reports of problems with Android.

Up to 700,000 Units

Commercial software developers, listen up: If you think open source is a free toolkit from which you can borrow at will, take a good look at Wednesday's legal ruling. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in New York City, where many intellectual-property cases are heard, overturned a Northern California court decision in Jacobsen v. Katzer, a pivotal case in open-source and Creative Commons law.

The bottom line? Even if open-source or Creative Commons licensing agreements charge no cash, if you violate terms of the license you are infringing on copyrighted material.

Commercial software developers, listen up: If you think open source is a free toolkit from which you can borrow at will, look a good look at Wednesday's legal ruling. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in New York City, where many intellectual-property cases are heard, overturned a Northern California court decision in Jacobsen v. Katzer, a pivotal case in open-source and Creative Commons law.

The bottom line? Even if open-source or Creative Commons licensing agreements charge no cash, if you violate terms of the license you are infringing on copyrighted material.

In the first 10 days after Apple opened its App Store for the iPhone, consumers downloaded more than 25 million applications, ranging from games like "Super Monkey Ball" to tools like New York City subway maps. It was nothing short of revolutionary, not only because the number was so high but also because iPhone users could do it at all.

A major flaw in the Internet infrastructure was leaked to the public Monday before many IT directors had the chance to apply security patches. The flaw was discovered weeks ago by Dan Kaminsky, a security expert at IOActive, who has worked with industry leading software developers investigating Internet vulnerabilities.