South Korea's LG Group opens IT outsourcing unit in India

Computerworld - LG's IT Services Unit Sets Up Shop in India
BANGALORE, India -- LG CNS Co., the IT services arm of Seoul-based LG Group, has set up a subsidiary here as a base for providing systems integration, application development and other IT services to clients in the U.S. and Europe.
The Bangalore unit, which was formally announced last month, will initially have about 120 staffers, and its workforce is expected to increase to more than 600 later this year.
LG CNS currently gets about 90% of its revenue from customers in South Korea, with roughly half of that business coming from other LG Group companies. The Indian subsidiary is intended to help the IT services operation boost revenue in markets outside of South Korea and earn more business from customers that aren't part of LG Group.
LG CNS was founded in 1987 as a joint venture between LG Group and Electronic Data Systems Corp. But LG Group acquired EDS's stake in 2001, creating an opportunity for LG CNS to address markets outside South Korea. Before that, by mutual agreement, LG CNS didn't offer services in other countries.
-- John Ribeiro, IDG News Service

EU Funds Research On Linux Project Tools
PARIS -- Acoalition of European research institutions and open-source software vendors announced plans on Dec. 21 to build development and management tools intended to make it easier to carry out complex IT projects involving Linux and other open-source technology.
The group has secured 2.2 million euros ($2.9 million U.S.) from the European Union plus additional funding from its participants, for a total of 3.4 million euros ($4.6 million U.S.). Members include the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (also known as INRIA) and Paris-based Linux vendor Mandrakesoft SA.
The coalition said it will develop tools such as a peer-to-peer application to help system builders install and integrate various Linux components and track their dependencies. Another planned tool is an automated testing suite for Linux.
-- James Niccolai, IDG News Service

Poles Delay Approval Of EU Software Patents
BRUSSELS -- The European Union has delayed a vote on adopting rules covering patents for computer-implemented inventions until later this year, after Poland asked for more time to ensure that the rules won't allow software to be patented.
In May, the EU Council of Ministers reached a draft agreement, which the ministers were expected to formally approve at a meeting on Dec. 21. But Polish officials asked for a delay on the grounds that the draft proposal puts small and