Here is just a quick roundup of news which revolves around our ‘favourite’ patents trolls, our ‘favourite’ anti-Free software laws, and Microsoft’s latest intellectual monopoly offenses.

What do you do when you have billions of dollars in the bank and more money coming in each day than most companies can score in their corporate lifetimes? You probably don't open source your software.

Here is just a quick word of caution: Now comes the latest FUD from the Burton Group, Microsoft’s left-arm FUD buddy, which was only recently used against Google, VMWare and ODF. As usual, it all comes in the form of a report Microsoft can cite and distribute copies of. It’s now used against Free software, too.

Asus launched its new 8.9-inch Eee PC yesterday, offering more memory, a multi-touch trackpad and better webcam, but despite two operating systems, chains will only see the Windows version.

With Novell’s help, alongside those other self-serving initiatives, Microsoft seems to have found a splendid formula for deception and manipulation. The company is perhaps convinced that it can afford to bribe, steal, bully and lie (just watch the OOXML scandals) in order to paint something Windows-specific and patents-riddled like OOXML with the ‘open’ brush.

Selling fear. That’s just what Novell does along with Microsoft, but it’s not alone. Novell tries to cause damage to friendly (Free software) rivals for the benefit of Microsoft and increased profit at Novell.

Despite recent strides made by the government and the private sector in combating piracy, the Philippines remains an intellectual property rights (IPR) hotspot in the region especially in terms of "optical media" and software.