Open source getting some serious love from corporate world

Lenovo, Dell, Nokia Siemens, Motorola and Google all make Linux announcements in last week

8 August 2007 12:52 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

"Every time you use Google, you’re using Linux."

So states a member of Google's open source team today as they announce that they have become a licensee of the Open Invention Network, a patent-sharing organisation founded to create a legally protected environment for anyone who works with Lunix.

In the blog statement, Chris DiBona, the open source product manager for Google states:

"Linux has given us the power and flexibility we need to serve millions of users around the world.

In turn, we feel a strong responsibility to the Linux community, and we’re always looking for creative ways to put our resources in the hands of Linux developers".

IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips and Sony are already members of the OIN, and industry insiders are speculating that this move is one to throw some weight against Microsoft's ongoing battle against Linux's supposed patent infringements.

Linuxworld 2007 is seeing some strong commitment from the corporate world as open source platforms are muscling in on Microsoft's turf.

The Google news comes the same day that Dell's new PC and laptop running Ubuntu go on sale in the UK, and days after an announcement that Lenovo is to produce a Linux-based Thinkpad.

Also this week, Motorola has reinforced its commitment to Mobile Linux with the release of the new MOTOMAGX platform.

The company claims this will being "new levels of openness, flexibility and support for third-party applications on Motorola mobile devices."

Motorola plans to use the MOTOMAGX platform in 60% of their upcoming handsets and stated that so far it had shipped 9 million handsets with the older platform.

Nokia Siemens Networks also announced this week that they are to join the Linux Foundation with the aim of helping improve Carrier Grade Linux.