Best of the blogs: Open Resource writer Dave Rosenberg peers into the darker side of what moves like Computer Associates’ patent gifts to open source really mean and states “I’m not sure if this scary yet, but it has enormous potential to be.” It’s not just CA, either. (It’s worth pointing out that Rosenberg has since amended his blog entry with a clarifying note that CA’s moves were good for the open source community, but that the patent pooling Ocean Tomo is what could be scary.) Operating systems: Vista vs. Tiger. In this piece from our Tech Fights of the Century package, Test Center chief technologist Tom Yager writes that “Windows Vista, the OS that was once dubbed Longhorn, marks Microsoft’s first step toward acknowledging that a boring desktop user interface might not be in everyone’s best interest.” The news beat: Microsoft released a new Web development platform for search, IM and mapping services that is designed to compete directly with Google, while IMlogic brought forth new software to predict and stop IM threats before they penetrate a corporate network. Security: When Microsoft issues its monthly patch for September, the update will include only one fix, for a bug the software giant labeled critical because a worm could take advantage of it without user action. Victor Garza writes in Zero Day that when companies have to replace other systems, such as security appliances for a VoIP installation, the costs can add up. His advice: augment, don’t replace. Hardware: Dell says it won’t fight AMD’s request for Intel documentation which is said to be a key part of the antitrust suit. Technology Industry