BEA Systems will make proprietary technologies from its WebLogic Workshop tool freely available to the larger Java development community, a company executive said.

If you've followed Linus Torvalds' postings on the Linux kernel mailing list (the LKML) for awhile, then you're aware of the high esteem he has for kernel code written with "good taste." It seems the highest compliment Linus ever pays to other kernel hackers is to refer to them as having "good taste."

Linus Torvalds and Open Source Development Labs plan a big coming-out party late next month for the Linux 2.6 kernel. Partners won't see commercial distributions based on the updated kernel until well into 2004.

Japan's top mobile operator, aims to offer

third-generation (3G) handsets that run on the

Linux-based operating system (OS) as early as the

second half of 2004, a source close to the firm said on Tuesday.

Inspired by stirrings among corporate users for desktop Linux and with Microsoft's forthcoming Longhorn operating system not expected on desktops until 2005, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell are augmenting their corporate Linux desktop wares. Novell and Red Hat also are assembling Linux desktops.

The latest version of NetBSD - 1.6.1 - has been released on April 21, 2003.

NetBSD 1.6.1 is a maintenance release for users of NetBSD 1.6 which provides the following updates relative to 1.6:

* A number of security issues have been fixed.

* Some performance fixes have been incorporated.

* Improved device support in some existing drivers.

* Some new device drivers have been added.

* The evbsh3 port has been added to the binary distribution.

* Some minor userland fixes have been applied.

Dominant Linux seller Red Hat has begun offering the newest incarnation of its product for business customers, a version that opens several new markets for the company.

Probably the biggest surprise about Mozilla 1.5 is that it exists at all. When the Mozilla Foundation laid out its road map earlier this year, the plan was for Mozilla 1.4 (see review) to be the last version of the big integrated Mozilla suite.

The new release of the software, which provides file and print services on Windows networks, can serve as a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) on NT 4.0.

Thousands of computers in ministries, government-linked organizations and universities in South Korea will replace the Microsoft Windows operating system and Office productivity suite with open source alternatives under the plan, according to the country's Ministry of Information and Communication.