Troubled software maker SCO's chief executive has claimed the Linux operating system includes Unix source code, during a court case in which Novell is suing SCO for royalties on Unix.

In the hearing, which concludes on Friday, SCO chief executive Darl McBride made claims--including that "Linux is a copy of Unix"--which are directly contradicted by the open-source community and apparently run counter to other SCO testimony, according to trial watchers, including Ars Technica.

SCO sued IBM in 2003, claiming that the IT giant had used copyright code from the Unix operating system which SCO sold, and later extended this suit to other Linux vendors. However, last August, Judge Dale Kimball ruled that Novell, not SCO, owns Unix. A four-day court case is now determining Novell's claim for up to $20 million in royalties from SCO, which declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

Many people are switching from Internet Explorer to alternative browsers such as Firefox and Safari. Though that might make them feel more secure, the shift has also opened new doors for bad guys.

Case in point: We have no IE bugs to report this month, but both Firefox and Safari have been hit hard.

Ahmed - I do not have any evidence that Mason was fired because of the Linux switchover and I don't think that is the case. I am going to get a copy of the tech audit today, which was done by someone who works with Linux. That will provide more details.