Software freedom may sound like a line from a revolutionary manifesto, but it’s the key genetic marker for value in the enterprise. read more on my ComputerWorldUK blog…
Filed under: Links, Open Source | Tagged: ComputerWorldUK, Philosophy | Comments Off on ☞ Not Just For Radicals
Filed under: Links, Open Source | 1 Comment »
There’s been a development in The Netherlands which you may have missed as it has been evolving. Sadly the XOOPS community has not prevailed in court against their former leader in the battle for control of their domain name and funds, losing soundly.
The reason? Despite a case that sounds reasonable, it turns out that they never built the governance structures into their community to ensure that, when the trust basis on which they were founded ended, the community was still run for the general good.
Filed under: Governance | Tagged: Litigation, XOOPS | 4 Comments »
It was delightful to see yesterday that WhiteHouse.gov released open source code for its web site customisations. This is another landmark in the acceptance of open source as a mainstream artifact, and another blow to those trying to get the US Trade Representative to use the presence of open source as a DNA marker for badness in foreign governments.
While there are traces of positivity in the Conservative manifest around open source, I see nothing as strong in the UK as this practice-what-you-preach action by Obama’s administration. We need to ask the people knocking on our doors the next two weeks why they are ignoring digital liberty issues.
Filed under: Open Source, OSfA | Tagged: Obama, USA | 1 Comment »
§ The Open Source Initiative Board has added OSI to the list of organizations asking that the BBC not be allowed to add digital restriction measures to digital broadcasts in the United Kingdom. The BBC’s request to do so is being reviewed by the UK regulator, OfCOM, and OSI is supporting the position statement from the UK’s Open Rights Group and encouraging others to do likewise.
Filed under: DRM, OSI | Tagged: BBC, DRM, ORG, OSI | Comments Off on ✍ OSI Opposes BBC DRM
§ Software freedom has a posse – in Washington DC, at least.
You’ll recall I posted a long analysis of the sick position the IIPA took urging the US Trade Representative (USTR) to discriminate against countries around the world if they have a preference for software freedom. That analysis become an input for the excellent position statement, written collaboratively by the OSI Board and posted by OSI President Michael Tiemann, calling for action by national groups.
I hear today that this has indeed resulted in positive action in Washington DC. Campaigning group Open Source for America issued a press statement yesterday, and wrote a two page position statement that they submitted to USTR. I gather they also met personally with a USTR representative to assert the position on behalf of America’s open source communities. I’m pretty sure this is the first time open source has been actively represented in Washington – about time!
This is an excellent development – kudos to the team that made it happen. We formed OSfA so that software freedom would have a political posse in Washington DC, and this first outing has shown that was the right move.
Filed under: Issues, OSfA | Tagged: IIPA, Open Source, OSFA, OSI, Politics, Special 301, USA, USTR | 1 Comment »
§ I gather that the Board of Directors of the Open Source Initiative met on Sunday to elect the board for their 2010-11 financial year. I am both honoured and delighted to discover that they have elected me as a Director, with effect from April 1st.
That’s an auspicious date 🙂 . One or two friends have asked why on earth anyone would want to commit time to OSI. They point out that the OSI has had a much lower profile over the past few years as the more notable founding members have moved on. It has been criticised for allowing too many licenses to be approved – including some of questionable merit. It’s easy to find people ready to criticise – some apparently just for the sake of it – and hard to find much more than grudging respect. Continue reading
Filed under: Open Source, OSI, Webmink | Tagged: Open Source, OSI | 20 Comments »
§ I am standing in the election for the OpenSolaris Governing Board one last time (this would be my third consecutive term if elected, so it has to be the last time). Each term has been quite different to the others, and I have no doubt this next year will be very different again for the OpenSolaris community.
Since I no longer work at Sun, I’d like to make clear what my “platform” is in this election in addition to my candidate statement. Continue reading
Filed under: Open Source, OpenSolaris, Webmink | Tagged: Community, Election, FOSS, Governance, OGB, Open Source, OpenSolaris | 4 Comments »
Today is my last day of employment at Sun (well, it became Oracle on March 1st in the UK but you know what I mean). I am a few months short of my 10th anniversary there (I joined at JavaOne in 2000) and my 5th anniversary as Chief Open Source Officer. I hope you’ll forgive a little reminiscence. Continue reading
Filed under: Open Source, Webmink | Tagged: FOSS, Open Source, Sun | 130 Comments »
§ A recent blog posting at The Guardian about the US “Special 301” rules has generated deep concern around the global open source community. It points (via a blog posting by Edinburgh University law lecturer Andres Guadamuz) to this year’s recommendations from the controversially-named International Intellectual Property Alliance, which describes itself as “a private sector coalition… of trade associations representing U.S. copyright-based industries” – namely
“the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)”.
As well as representing a group of organisations with dreadful reputations for disregarding citizen liberty and victimising customers, the organisation’s activities involve engagement with WIPO, activity over TRIPS and ACTA and this “Special 301” review. That is certainly enough to make each of their statements subject to scrutiny. IIPA provides a vehicle that allows companies who are members of its member organisations – that’s a double-opaque arrangement – to exercise influence without accountability and with deniability. Continue reading
Filed under: Issues, Open Source | Tagged: BSA, FOSS, IIPA, Open Source, Special 301, Trade, USA | 3 Comments »
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