Weekly news wrap-up: Netscape’s no browser

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Author: JT Smith

– By Grant Gross
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Netscape’s corporate owners seem to want to rebrand the Open Source browser company as something more than it is. One of the big stories this week was AOL Time Warner’s attempt to reposition the browser company as something called an “Internet media hub,” whatever that means.

Maybe just being a browser isn’t enough in this tough economy.

For Caldera, being a full-service Linux and Unix company isn’t bringing in profits, either. The company announced this week it lost $11.7 million the last quarter, outpacing Wall Street’s loss expectations. The good news was that revenues were up overall.

Plugging JXTA

There was lots of news this week out of the JavaOne conference, some of it of interest to those following Open Source. Bill Joy, Sun Microsystems’ co-founder and chief scientist, was talking up Sun’s Open Source peer-to-peer JXTA suite and Open Source in general. Joy dreamed out loud about the day when peer-to-peer computing would allow gas-price auctions on handhelds in cars.

Into the fire

In other Microsoft news, Microsoft v.p. Craig Mundie will debate Red Hat’s Michael Tiemann at the O’Reilly Open Source Conference in late July. Yes, it’s that Craig Mundie. Say what you will about the guy — he’s misdirected, we know — he’s certainly brave.

New in NewsForge

Stories unique to NewsForge this week:

  • Free Software movement founder Richard Stallman debuts on NewsForge with a warning about an international treaty called the Hague Convention and how it could affect webmasters’ free speech and patents. Also, the EuroLinux Alliance offers some advice on how to protest the treaty.

  • News editor Tina Gasperson sorts out the disagreement between the creator of ipfilter and the folks at OpenBSD.

  • For something a little lighter, check out Gasperson’s look at tech-related humor sites.

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