Lineo Inc. is buying a company that specializes in embedded system development products aimed at helping developers create programs for incorporation into larger systems. The deal gives Lineo access to the RTXC real-time operating system, which will allow Lineo to enter the 8 and 16 microprocessor field.

Mandrake is making all its training and support modules open source. "People can take them and use them at will for free. They can add to them and can even take the courses and then take the exams online," said Barry Cochrane, EMEA sales director.

Corel's recently announced spin-off of its Linux distribution is the "best thing for Linux", according to Rene Schmidt, Executive VP for Corel's Linux Product Group. "Corel believes that a spin-off will provide better focus for our resources and this focus will better position our Linux offerings as key components of an end-to-end solution."

When talking to "typical Linux users," Miller [A Microsoft .Net program manager] said, he constantly hears that they're not interested in paying for software, which means it isn't likely that Microsoft will be developing any Linux-ported software of its own anytime soon.

Microsoft's Product Activation technology has triggered a row in the company's official Whistler beta newsgroups, with testers threatening defection to Linux or piracy over the matter.

Nautilus 1.0 Preview Release 3.0 will ship this week and Nautilus 1.0, minus some Web services technology, will ship within the next month, said Tom Goguen, Eazel's director of product marketing.

Corel chief Derek Burney was hoping to clinch the anticipated spin-off of Corel's Linux operation in time to trumpet it this week at LinuxWorld in New York. Alas, the deal hasn't come off yet and Burney has said that it could be another month in the making.

With the date-change bug a memory, partners are looking to Linux to provide the next mainframe boost. The reasoning is that traditional mainframe shops will take to Linux on the mainframe as a means for consolidating Unix servers, solutions providers say. Linux also may expand the mainframe market, luring customers who have never before purchased the big boxes.

The London-based investment banking arm of Dresdner Bank AG, Germany's third-biggest bank, last week launched its custom-built, back-end integration tool, called Openadaptor. The open-source application lets the bank reconcile its global banking and trading accounts faster.

The London-based investment banking arm of Dresdner Bank AG, Germany's third-biggest bank, last week launched its custom-built, back-end integration tool, called Openadaptor. The open-source application lets the bank reconcile its global banking and trading accounts faster.