The Linux technology, development model, and community have all been game-changing influences on the IT industry, and all we can really do is stand back and look at it all, happy to have been along for the ride for developerWorks' first 10 years.

...the tech world is rocked with the latest announcement made by Google: "...today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be."Google Chrome OS is aimed at people who spend most of their time on the web and will initially be targeted at netbooks.

In November of 2006, Microsoft rocked the Linux world by signing a landmark patent and interoperability agreement with Novell. According to the two partners, it's an agreement that today, two and half years later is still paying off, even during the current recession.

"This was an important month for Free Software. Not only was Software Freedom Day held (as always) on the 20th, but this years marks the 25th anniversary of the GNU Project. Celebrations took place across Europe and our Fellows continued to support Free Software in local areas with enthusiasm and passion. Other important events took place.

Years ago I already played a bit with Linux (It was Redhat 5.0 on my 386). At that time I thought the operating system wasn't yet ready for the desktop and after a while I reinstalled Windows. Things changed when Ubuntu 5.04 was released. This was the first time I really enjoyed Linux; the most important things worked, it was easy and it was just great!

"An important advance in the life of the network happened today. Miro 1.0 was released. Think about the history of computing technology -- from the bottom of the stack up, the movement has been from proprietary to free. The hardware became a commodity, then the OS, then many apps. Miro represents the commodifying the content protocol layer..."

A very important factor in the determinant of the success of an OS is its acceptance and adoption by the enterprise world. Ubuntu Linux, over the past several years has made great strides in winning over a lot of home users. The story is different though when it comes to the enterprise world.

Linux’s world has seen very interesting recent developments. But two that stand out the most for me are Debian’s decision about scheduled freezes and the drama surrounding CentOS. Both can be seen positively or negatively but both, in my view, have improved the state of Linux.

A roundup summarising important developments pertaining to software patents. A LOT has happened since the last post regarding software patents. Here are some reports and developments to be aware of.