OS Roundup

Remember WebOS? The smartphone operating system HP acquired when it bought Palm last year? Starting next year, every PC HP ships will be able to run WebOS along with Microsoft Windows. And don't think HP is limiting the OS' future to the desktop.

These days, open source software is not just about peace, love and digital freedom; it's also about turning a profit. Red Hat, clearly tired of the other Linux vendors using its Linux server OS as a foundation for their services, is changing its rules with the latest release of RHEL.

A recent HP-commissioned Forrester Consulting survey finds this to indeed be the case for some enterprises holding fast to their OS of choice despite Linux's steady move upstream. Are they the last holdouts or an indicator that UNIX still has much to offer?

The London Stock Exchange switches to Suse Linux, and the Financial Times asks if this is indicative of a bellwether trend. A case of stalwart paper being behind the time, or do some enterprises truly believe Linux is just for start ups?

Microsoft and Nokia have teamed up in the hope of at last conquering the smartphone market. Many are calling this a last ditch effort for both the phone maker and the OS vendor to have any sort of presence in this complex market. Here's why the venture is likely to fail.

Wrap your arms around the five biggest changes in the latest release of Debian -- everything you need to know about version 6 of the open source server OS.

Want to deploy Linux on your servers without pulling your hair out? There may soon be an app for that. A consortium of Linux developers representing the major distros is developing an app installer system that will allow users from any distro to browse an application store, read ratings, and click on a button to download and install an application -- much like Apple's model.

Bye-bye, Xserve. Is the Cupertino gadget-maker getting ready to admit defeat and axe its OS X Server product line altogether? A key indicator will be whether a server edition of OS X Lion, the next version of OS X, is released this summer.

2011 has only just begun, and already there is plenty going on in the world of OS software. From Apple OS X Lion to Microsoft Windows 8, here are the top 5 noteworthy OS developments.

The gap between where desktop computing ends and mobile computing begins is becoming increasingly murkier as tablets make strides to cross the chasm. Not surprisingly, no two vendors demonstrate this more sharply than Microsoft vs. Apple.

As part of the sale of Novell to Attachmate, Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and EMC have done the unlikely: They've joined together under the CPTN banner to acquire more than 800 patents. Is the OSI right to be concerned that this could be the beginning of the end?

2010 was a pretty dramatic year in the server OS world, with one big name disappearing in a puff of logic, another selling itself off to the highest bidder and a third joining Oracle's 'evil' empire. Like any year, 2010 had some obvious winners, some downright losers and a quite a few merchants of 'meh.' Here are the 8 most notable server OS developments that took place in 2010.

Oracle claims the top spot for Unix with Solaris and reveals it has its eye on the Linux top spot for its homegrown Linux distro, Oracle Enterprise Linux. Red Hat and HP express a mix of consternation and amusement. But is that the right reaction?

With OpenSUSE safe for the time being and Novell holding fast to its UNIX copyrights, many in the open source world have much to smile about this week. Ubuntu's announcement that it is not moving to a rolling release and yet another Chrome delay are also top of mind, as is some info on jailbreaking your Windows Phone 7.

The announcement that Novell has agreed to sell itself is no surprise. The buyer -- Attachmate -- is, as is the agreed-upon price of $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, the future of Suse Linux Enterprise Server remains unclear, as does Microsoft's role in the deal.

It's not unusual for a software release to trigger a hardware refresh. With the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, many OEMs are counting on it.

Apple's phenomenal success in the phone and electronic gadget markets is making its legacy computer business look increasingly anachronistic. Here are five things you should know before you invest in anything to do with Mac OS X in your data center or enterprise.

Windows Server 2008 R2's latest service pack adds appealing new features, including enhancements to desktop and server virtualization. In the developer corner, however, things are a bit dimmer with Microsoft expressing some confusing statement about the future of Silverlight at its Professional Developer's Conference.

Apple's recent decision to deprecate Java is yet another spitball at its traditional customer base. As the Mac platform reinvents itself as a glorified games console for Apple's latest batch of customers to play non-violent games, edit home movies and run a selection of sanitized Apple-approved apps, it seems even less likely to gain a foothold in the enterprise.

With Ray Ozzie's departure leaving Microsoft rudderless and Apple all but exiting the computer market to concentrate on its i-devices, the future is not looking bright for these once unstoppable market leaders. The opposite holds true for the other server OS vendors, however.

In the flurry of 10-related memes this past week, one stood out: the release of Canonical's open source server OS, Ubuntu 10.10 Server Edition, also known as 'Maverick Meerkat.' In keeping with the theme, here are 10 noteworthy aspects.

Thanks to Windows, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, Fedora and the not-so-well-known (but no less notable) QNX, the server OS waters were choppier than usual this week. Here's some insight as to what's really going on.

Is HP's emphasis on new HP-UX features aimed squarely at Oracle users indicative of a midlife crisis in a market with limited room for growth or much like a prudent bank manager sizing up the threats and opportunities for its UNIX?

These days, the UNIX and Linux server OS landscape would play on the big screen as well as a combination Jackie Chan, James Bond, and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure movie all rolled together.

When it comes to Windows server security, it's all about reaction time.