IBM, Docker, Microsoft, Red Hat & others join Google’s open-source Kubernetes container project 

Kubernetes, the recently open-sourced cloud container automation project maintained by Google Cloud Platform and IT automation and configuration management provider SaltStack, is gaining the support of IBM, Docker, Microsoft, Red Hat and others joining the Kubernetes community.

Google Cloud Platform SVP Urs Hölzle made the announcement in a blog post detailing each company’s role in supporting the open container management framework for public, private and hybrid clouds. Microsoft is working to implement Kubernetes in Linux environments in Azure VMs, Red Hat is bringing it to the open hybrid cloud, and both IBM and Docker are working to integrate it into the broader Docker ecosystem.

Other new contributors include the open-source CoreOS Linux distribution and the Mesosphere data center OS. Learn more about Kubernetes’ container cluster management in its GitHub repository. –Rob Marvin

Wolfram launches Mathematica 10

Wolfram has announced a major update to its computational programming tool, Mathematica.

“We released Mathematica 1 just over 26 years ago—on June 23, 1988. And ever since we’ve been systematically making Mathematica ever bigger, stronger, broader and deeper,” Stephen Wolfram wrote on his blog.

The new Mathematica mixes new areas such as geometric and geographic computation and machine learning with improved existing areas of Mathematica. The new version also is set up to immediately connect to the Wolfram Cloud. Other features include autocompletion, a hovering help box, computation-aware multiple undo, new default look for plots and graphs, new algorithms and algorithmic capabilities. –Christina Mulligan

Companies form alliance against patent trolls

Asana, Canon, Dropbox, Google, Newegg and SAP have teamed up to form the License on Transfer (LOT) Network, an alliance aimed at fighting patent trolls and patent privateering.

Patent trolls are businesses who hold patents and never do anything inventive with them. Patent privateering are companies who sell patents to trolls that then use them to attack other companies.

The LOT agreement allows companies to retain ownership and rights to their patent, but provides LOT members with a royalty-free license if the patent is ever sold.

“By working together, we can cut down on patent litigation, allowing us to focus instead on building great products,” said Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google. –Christina Mulligan