The Software Freedom Law Center and Red Hat's CEO rag on the patent system. "Nobody can write software without risking a lawsuit."

Ingres goes after Sun's customers. The company is promoting a migration path from the MySQL database.

Apple's iPhone now has one-third the market share of desktop Linux. NetApplications measured how much Linux and the iPhone are used to access the Internet.

FOSS sexism claims stir up the pot. Bruce Byfield's recent article on the topic has people talking.

ARMing desktop Linux. ARM-based netbooks are on their way and they can't run Windows.

This week, the news arrived that Dell is putting ARM processors alongside Intel Core Duo chips in high-end Windows-based laptops that can boot Linux for instant-on application usage. The company's Latitude Z notebooks run Windows on a Core Duo Intel processor, but will let you jump in and out of simple applications and browsers for on-the-fly tasks when you don't want to wait for Windows to boot.

The concept isn't new. The idea of instant-on computers has been around for more than 15 years, but Windows computers have mostly been diametrically opposed to the concept. We have written about DeviceVM's Linux-based SplashTop instant-on software a number of times, and I've used it. It's excellent for when you want to check on a quick bit of information without loading a bloated operating system. Still, who wins if this idea takes off on a widespread basis in portable computers?

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Daniel Amir writes in a research note that Nokia plans to launch an ARM-based netbook that relies on the Google-pioneered Android mobile operating system in 2010. GigaOm 's Stacey Higginbotham notes that if an ARM-based Android netbook fails, there could easily be an alternative design in the works, due to Nokia's and Intel's new, far-reaching open source-focused partnership. Daniel Amir's research note reports that Nokia's Android-based netbook would be sold by carriers. Check out more details in the GigaOm story.