Linux software maker Red Hat Inc reported profit ahead of Street projections on Wednesday , helped by cost cuts and a stock buyback, sending shares up 8 percent.

"The introduction of a new version of its Linux distribution and new JBoss software helped Red Hat Inc. increase profit to US$16.2 million, or $0.08 a share, on revenue of $118.9 million, in its fiscal first quarter ended May 31, the company reported Wednesday."

Red Hat's first quarter profit, reported Wednesday, jumped 17 percent from the year-ago period, bolstered by new offerings and the continuation of high-dollar partnerships. In October, shares of Red Hat tumbled 24 percent on the news that Oracle was to move aggressively onto Red Hat's turf by selling maintenance services for Red Hat products.

Red Hat Inc, the world's largest publicly traded provider of Linux software, reported on Wednesday a quarterly profit that met Wall Street expectations as its revenue grew 32 percent.

Trend Micro and Microsoft are both revealing their thoughts about a plan to fight Free software using software patents

"Join us and the ScriptumLibre.org Foundation in boycotting all products and services sold by Trend Micro. The proprietary software company Trend Micro has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Barracuda Systems. They claim that Barracuda is violating their patent by distributing the free software antivirus program ClamAV..."

"For years now, industry restrictions and tightening profit margins have forced PC manufacturers to shy away from offering productivity software on their new PCs," stated Eugene Chang, product manager for Everex. "Our main focus was to build a no-compromise, back-to-school PC with all the software applications a typical student would require," Chang said.

Open-source software maker Red Hat Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 17 percent year-over-year, driven by strong demand for its Linux software as well as sales of new products and subscription-based services.

"The ScriptumLibre.org Foundation issued a call today for a worldwide boycott on Trend Micro products. The call comes as a response to the public announcement on January 29th that a lawsuit was filed by Trend Micro in November 2007, which claims that software-security company Barracuda Networks is infringing its U.S.-patent on software that filters out viruses on Internet gateway computers..."