The clearest sign of Vodafone’s new philosophy can be found on a Web portal called betavine. The site allows anyone from hobbyists to software pros to create and test one another’s mobile applications, which can be downloaded on any wireless network, not just Vodafone’s. While developers retain intellectual property rights, the British giant gets insight into the latest trends and ensures that new apps are compatible with its network. Vodafone itself used betavine to enlist those enthusiasts to test a software add-on that enables mobile broadband customers to access the Internet via Linux.

Vodafone: Embracing Open Source with Open Arms – BusinessWeek

It’s ironic but fitting that executive bonuses, a subject that’s ignited popular anger against the very companies in Sun Microsystems’ core customer base on Wall St, helped kill Sun’s future.

It’s been reported that a disagreement between IBM and Sun over post-acquisition packages for both chief executive officer Jonathan Schwartz and chairman and co-founder Scott McNealy helped sink a deal that sources last week told The Reg was imminent.

Did Sun’s total package kill the IBM deal? • The Register

Sun Microsystems share price has plummeted this week following the breakdown of IBM’s takeover talks. The board rejected an offer of $9.40 per share and terminated their agreement to negotiate exclusively with IBM.

Sun has been looking for a buyer for several months. The company has struggled for a few years and is in the process of cutting 6,000 jobs. Most analysts agree that it has never fully capitalized on its core technologies such as Java. During the mid-1990s, Java was touted as being the only development platform needed for desktop and web applications, but performance issues, licensing confusion, and the success of competing technologies contributed to its sedate uptake in the market.

Where Next for Sun Microsystems?

OpenMoko said it will not be making successors to its open source Neo FreeRunner smartphone.

Speaking at a conference in Switzerland, OpenMoko CEO Sean Moss-Pultz said the company will discontinue development on the next iteration of its Linux-based smartphone, as the FreeRunner only sold about 10,000 units. The company will focus on a supporting the existing smartphone, as well as a new product that’s not a mobile phone, Moss-Pultz said.

OpenMoko Ending Open Source Smartphone — Open Source Smartphone — InformationWeek

The big IBM-Sun (JAVA) news has come and gone; so far without an outcome. It’s going to be ugly for Sun. A situation like this is absolutely fatal to an organization. The wheels of employee defection and revised customer spending plans are set in motion and there is little that can be done to stop them. Sun’s senior management and the board probably have no idea how much has already happened in the last two weeks. So if they understand the urgency to find a solution for shareholders is an open question.

Right after the IBM-Sun deal fell through, speculation turned to Red Hat (RHT). The reason for this is that we are at a perfect time for open source companies and solutions. Budgets and spending are under huge pressure and all the growth seems to be at lower price points. The netbook craze is a good example of this. There are designs out there that promise formidable performance with HD video and high end graphics at “stupidly cheap prices”, according to eager customers. This has become a motif in many areas of technology adoption and growth.

Sun Still Stands Out on the Open Source Deal Horizon — Seeking Alpha

Red Hat’s CEO, in a blog post on Monday, is endorsing the Obama Administration’s call for openness and participation in government by likening the President’s statement to the open source software movement.

Linking to a White House statement in which President Obama calls for transparency, participation, and collaboration in government, Red Hat president/CEO Jim Whitehurst said open source provides an answer to calls for transparency and participation.

Red Hat CEO seeks open source in government – Network World

This means that a budget of around 40 million euros will be available to be tendered for by open source vendors as part of the centralised tendering process. The vendors will be able to begin the process of tendering for open source based projects in public sector and higher education establishment in a few weeks.

heise online – Hungarian government goes 50 per cent open source

Over the weekend, the company’s executive director, Sean Moss-Pulz, said that staff cuts would be implemented, and Ars Technica spotted a mailing list post from OpenMoko’s vice president of marketing, Steve Mosher, confirming that the successor to the FreeRunner is delayed, and might even have to be shelved.

OpenMoko struggling with open-phone project | Wireless – CNET News

However, despite the great interest in open source licensing, there has been virtually no precedent construing or applying any of these widely used “copy-left” licenses (or indeed any open source licenses) prior to the Federal Circuit’s December decision in Jacobsen v. Katzer, 535 F.3d 1373 (Fed Cir. 2008). Although Jacobsen left many issues still to be decided (a point well demonstrated on remand), the Federal Circuit held that breach of an open source license does not merely permit a breach of contract claim, but that violating the “conditions” to the intellectual property license creates a cause of action for copyright infringement — with associated remedies. Indeed, in turning the focus from contract to infringement, the Federal Circuit remanded for the district court to reassess its denial of a preliminary injunction.

Legal Technology – Open Source After ‘Jacobsen v. Katzer’

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 this week.

More open-source companies should be asking the U.S. Patent & 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 in San Francisco.

Open-source Firms Urged to Go on Legal Offensive – Business Center – PC World