Mozilla Europe's founder, Tristan Nitot, has no problem with free software. Indeed, his organization has created some of the best of it. But when software technologies like Adobe Systems' Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight are free but proprietary, they can create all sorts of problems. "Free" without "open" can become a one-way ticket to technology prison.

Have you ever uncovered Linux hidden in a place you didn't expect or have you implemented it covertly? Here are some interesting stories from readers.

Does it matter who pays the salaries of Linux kernel developers? If so, how much, and in what ways?

Sun has a ways to go make sure that projects they free have a non-negligible contribution from people outside their organisation, and OpenOffice.org is probably the most compelling case for an independent non-profit that they have right now.

Nokia’s Internet Tablet devices are set to get a port of the Linux operating system Ubuntu, following the release of the latest ‘Hardy Heron’ v8.04 of Ubuntu this week.

I foresee companies starting to take a serious look at Linux for their corporate server and desktop infrastructures. As our economy slides quietly into recession, corporate check writers are going to engage to CIOs and technical managers to find ways to lower costs for power, cooling, software, and hardware. Turning to Linux will be a natural part of that mission.

One of the highlights of fisl9.0 for me was getting to know better the work that is being done by Brazil's Ministry of Education (MEC). They have just unveiled the numbers for the ongoing ProInfo project. What is interesting about this project is that it not only provides infrastructure (computers and net connectivity) but also open content to students in public schools.

Nicholas Negroponte, the head of the One Laptop per Child project, is in the news again, this time trying to rationalise the appearance of Windows XP on the laptop manufactured by the project.