Package management in Perl and Linux may have seeded their existence, but app stores have been hostile to open source and failed to pass on software freedom to users. But that could be changing, and today’s exemplar could be … Microsoft. Read on in InfoWorld today as I lay out the groundwork for the discussion Amanda Brock and I will lead at FOSDEM.
Filed under: InfoWorld | Tagged: FOSDEM, Microsoft | Comments Off
Has Microsoft got a problem? The extensive new features in Samba 4 make it a viable, license-free, security-certified alternative to Active Directory, and make OpenChange a viable alternative to Exchange. What’s more, Microsoft has participated in testing to make sure they work as advertised. This could be the open source identity solution everyone has been waiting for.
None of this could have happened without Microsoft’s European anti-trust conviction in 2004 and the subsequent purchase of the documentation on behalf of the Samba team in 2007. Could this be the first time an anti-trust settlement has done more than just fine the victor? My piece in InfoWorld has more.
Filed under: InfoWorld | Tagged: Microsoft, OpenChange, Samba | Comments Off
Having suspended disbelief for as long as I could, my ability to take Microsoft at their word over Skype was shattered today by the announcement by Digium, sponsors of the Asterisk project, that they have been told they can no longer sell their Asterisk-Skype interaction module after July 26. In one move, we have illustrated the risk of a hybrid open source model, the danger of dependency on a proprietary system, a proof that Microsoft still can’t be trusted with open source and an impetus to open source innovation.
All in one announcement. Read all about it on ComputerWorldUK.
Filed under: ComputerWorldUK | Tagged: Asterisk, Linux, Microsoft, Skype | Comments Off
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) Board of Directors announced today that it has taken the unprecedented step of referring the proposed sale of Novell’s patents to the CPTN consortium (led by Microsoft and allegedly including EMC, Apple and Oracle – unlikely bedfellows) to the German competition authorities.
Continue reading over at ComputerWorldUK…
Filed under: ComputerWorldUK, OSI, Patents | Tagged: Microsoft, Novell | Comments Off
The last week has provided a number of interesting – and perhaps surprising – case studies in corporate engagement with open source. This Monday’s Link Post takes a look at Microsoft and Silverlight, Symbian, Oracle and Java and Canonical and GNOME, over at ComputerWorldUK.
Filed under: Open Source | Tagged: Canonical, CWUK, GNOME, Java, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, Symbian, Ubuntu | Comments Off
Miguel de Icaza clarifies his comments regarding Microsoft’s handling of the open source community over the last 8 years. I find myself in complete agreement with him for once. Had Microsoft had the epiphany that open source was something it could instinctively adopt and harness at the start of the decade, the world today would be very different.
Instead, it finds itself with a history of toxic behaviour that no amount of attempted reconciliation will quickly clear, especially while the leadership that attacked the free and open source movement is still in place. I hear the job of figurehead for their open source work is proving hard to fill, and no wonder – who wants to step in as apologist for a decade of bad faith? The mistrust is deserved and most of us won’t be as wowed by technology into easy trust as Miguel has been.
Other news:
Filed under: Links | Tagged: Microsoft, Open Source | 1 Comment »
§ I think the time is coming to fill in a few gaps in technology history – including a little trivia. If you have photos, let me know!
A piece of history that many of us older Java geeks remember is the stunt someone pulled at JavaOne in 1997. Java was the hottest new technology in town, the embodiment of the emerging web culture. The JavaOne conference was in its infancy – it started in 1996 – and was sharing the Moscone Center in San Francisco with another conference, Software Development West. The relationship was friendly – indeed, the two conferences clubbed together to close Howard Street and hold a street party for delegates of both events. (more…)
Filed under: History, Java | Tagged: IBM, JavaOne, Microsoft, T-Shirt | 2 Comments »
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