On January 4th, Linus Torvalds, the Finnish programmer who co-ordinates the development of Linux (see article), quietly released the latest version of the Linux kernel the software that, as its name suggests, is at the core of the operating system.

ECONOMIST: Computing

Ubuntu is the most popular operating system to be based on the Linux kernel - the code that lets software and hardware work together.

BBC: Ubuntu operating system comes to Android smartphones

The software powering the device is built on the open-source Linux kernel and the open-source WebKit Web browser engine, Rathakrishnan says.

FORBES: Gizmos

The news that the software giant will now allow companies such as McAfee and Symantec access to the kernel of the 64-bit version of Vista has been met with cautious approval.

BBC: NEWS | Technology | Microsoft U-turns on Vista data

Farther down the hall, Open Kernel and CohesiveFT, a cloud-computing firm run by Patrick Kerpan, ex-CTO of software icon Borland, run larger operations.

FORBES: Magazine Article