Conventional wisdom says open source software providers are benefiting from the recession as businesses seek lower-cost IT solutions. But if open source is so darn hot, why are two major open source companies — GroundWork Open Source and SugarCRM — cutting prices and/or introducing lower-cost options? Here’s the scoop.

Facebook recently launched a new set of APIs that allow third-party application developers to integrate support for the Facebook stream in their software.

The problem for netbooks is that most run Intel Corp.’s Atom N270 processor, which lacks Intel’s VT hardware virtualization. The same goes for the N270′s successor, the N280, which only recently began shipping. Lack of hardware virtualization support is also a problem for Intel’s Atom CPUs for so-called net-top minidesktop PCs, the 230 and the dual-core 330.

Imagine if office furniture were manufactured and sold by Microsoft…buying furniture would be so much simpler!

When netbooks first came along, they almost all ran Linux. Microsoft, which was stuck with the resource pig known as Windows Vista, simply couldn’t compete. So, reluctantly, Microsoft gave Windows XP Home a new lease on life and sold it below cost to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to kill the Linux desktop at the root. For this cost, Microsoft was successful, but now Microsoft is about to blow it by replacing XP Home with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is crippleware by any other name.

Build your technical skills and your professional network IBM’s Linux and UNIX communities. With the debut of My developerWorks®, two little characters (“My”) make a big difference: They take developerWorks from “just” the place where you find award-winning how-to content for developers and IT professionals to the place where you and your peers congregate to connect, share, and collaborate. Great content is just the beginning, and now it’s time for you to take the next step: Create your professional profile and your custom home page on My developerWorks. Then find and connect with like-minded peers, and invite them into your My developerWorks network to share expertise and build groups for further interaction and collaboration.

Contributed by jason on Thu Apr 30 20:35:09 2009 from the check-your-sums dept. Bob Beck warns users about a site carrying unofficial 4.5 sets.

Ultraportable laptops – netbooks such as the Eee PC – are becoming increasingly popular. A computer that’s small enough to live permanently in your bag without giving you backache can be incredibly useful, especially as wireless connectivity and 3G hardware are growing in ubiquity. Netbooks aren’t just consigned to disposable web surfing, though – they can rely on cloud computing services to provide you with a host of additional functionality. If you’ve never heard of cloud computing before, the idea behind it is that you’re able to store and use your data online, rather than on a local computer. That may sound confusing, but for commonly used examples of online apps that save data to remote servers, you need look no further than Google’s range of apps. The upshot of this is that all you require is an internet connection to have access and control over all your data, regardless of where you are.

Mandriva has released the final version of Mandriva Linux Spring 2009. The new version offers KDE 4.2.2 as the default desktop, delivers up to 25 percent faster boots, supports additional netbooks, and provides enhanced networking and security tools, says the French software company.

A review of several different backup options for ubuntu/linux, and the pros and cons of the different options.