Google has sent one of the most prolific independent developers for the Android phone a letter demanding he stop distributing software that greatly expands the capabilities of the fledgling smartphone operating system. Neither Google nor the developer, who goes by the handle Cyanogen, is saying much about the cease and desist letter.

Well, it was nice while it lasted. With Android, Google had promised us the ideal of a truly open-source mobile operating system being headed by one of the technology world’s most influential organisations. And now, the company has gone ahead and issued a ‘Cease and Desist’ (C&D) order to one of the most popular Android mods around.

The operator of a technology discussion forum has sued Apple, claiming that the company used U.S. copyright law to curb legitimate discussion of its iTunes software.

Open source project Amarok, in an open letter to Palm, has invited the company to work with them. The reason: the Apple iTunes 8.2.1 update guarantees that the Linux-based Palm Pre smartphone can no longer use the iTunes music management software.

Apple's attempt to quash an effort to help the latest iPods and iPhones work with non-Apple software such as the Linux operating system is out of line, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Tuesday.

To be sure, the alternatives don’t have Apple's muscle with the media industry. This translates into a lack of a movie/TV download service to be seriously competitive with the likes of what iTunes can provide. Despite this drawback, there are still some great open source alternatives to iTunes for those who are more interested in software freedom than software convenience.

Over the years, iTunes has been accepted as a necessary evil between media players.
However, the open source project called Songbird, ever since its conception, has been providing some stiff competition for iTunes.

Yesterday, Apple computer released Safari for windows, proving that the company does have the desire to expand their enterprise and myriad programs to other platforms. However, they so far have neglected the Linux user. Will apple release iTunes for Linux? Not anytime soon. So what solutions does the open source community have?

Apple will tell you that iTunes 8.2.1 fixes bugs and, in particular, improves interoperability with iPhones and iPod Touches running iPhone 3.0 Software. But, it really it only has one "feature:" It blocks the Palm Pre's iTunes compatibility. KDE thinks there's another way.