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Caldera Announces Open Source for DOS.

For anyone who has any doubt about this claim:
Here's the truth:

Caldera Announces Open Source for DOS, Sept. 10, 1996. There, FTFY. I know people have become a bit tired of me harping on about this, but the fact is that the phrase "Open Source" was in well-established usage years before any of these people claim to have invented it. And what's more, all of them should know it. Caldera didn't invent the term either! It was already in common use among internet-savvy programmer types when Caldera used it! "Open" has been used to describe the interoperability of Unix systems since at least the 1980s, and the phrase "Open Source" was already being used around communities like Santa Cruz (where SCO was, hence the name) which were heavy on software developers to describe software whose source code you could get your hands on for free. If only Google hadn't completely neutered the search interface on Groups, I'm sure I could find more citations...

Can you point out any references to "Open Source" that predate the current common meaning (that includes free redistributability)?

Yes. This predates Perens' erroneous claim of invention of the term by a year, and "everyone else's" claim of when it was invented at a meeting in which Perens was included (but everyone there thinks they invented the term, which is I suppose reasonable considering that no one there invented the term) by two years.

Bruce Perens has done an excellent job of convincing the masses that Open Source means what he wants it to mean, but the reality is that it meant source code access but not rights of redistribution before the OSI existed, before Bruce claims to have invented the term, and so on. Unfortunately, Even Wikipedia buys into this revisionist view of history which can be debunked by any asshole who can use google. And yes, I am that asshole, and I did use google, and I wrote the last-linked article which expands on this theory.

Can someone figure out who wrote that Wikipedia entry? It might be interesting.

http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring97/0143.html

The summary reminded me of this:
http://www.willamette.edu/~fruehr/haskell/evolution.html

But I can't say that I'm not Haskell "biased". After all I tasted "her". And this resembles the experience best:
http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week-of-Mon-20070219/044101.html

A quick web search found this: http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring96/0113.html

Probably little chance of success, since it would not be interoperable with established tools (primitive though they weree) and more importantly, wouldn't be "hackable" by random geniuses who created all the web applications that succeeded as well as failed. With all useful applications in the HTMP/CGI domain, a proprietary project wouldn't have had a chance.

Except for Microsoft's tradition of making a large number of pale imitations of successful products after the fact, most of which fail. True, a few succeed enough to gain traction and are wildly successful (Office, Visual Studio, XBox) enough to support all the other me-too development, but when you are fighting network effects, even a very good execution is useless (Zune vs. iPod). Web development has happened faster than any single entity could keep up with (in the same way that microcomputer development far exceeded even giant IBM's ability to make comparable mainframe applications when PCs hit the world).

This has already been done before by the NSA. In an abandoned NSA base, people found US satellites with smiley faces painted on them. The nsa would time it in sync with russian spy satellites. See http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/2001.01/0188.html which is actually an exert from the book "Chatter".

Please see this journal entry, note especially this document to which I link. Whether you're trying to redefine the word "Open" (with a capital O, much like Free) or the phrase "Open Source", there was meaning before the OSI, and hopefully, it will have that same meaning when the OSI is gone.

Perens attempted to register "open source" as a service mark for the OSI, but that attempt was impractical by trademark standards. (ref) Of course it is. The phrase was in common use in the Unix community prior to the OSI being a twinkle in anyone's eye. And if you just do a little google archive search (don't know why I didn't think of this before today...) then you will see that the phrase "open source" was used in the media primarily to discuss state secrets available from non-domestic spies (e.g. foreign and free agents.) You can see the two come together in this New Scientist article from 1993.

I still have yet to see a good reason why any terms should be redefined here.

Heh I've always wondered about blackjack - years ago John Carmack of id Software wrote a .plan update about how he went and played at some casino (found this site which includes the copy of his update at the time) - it sounded like he walked in, played for a few hours and won $20k (which he donated to the FSF).

I always remembered that; I don't gamble because I don't know the numbers well enough to feel like I'd be doing anything other than having fun (and I'd rather spend my money 'having fun' at the pub or at the movies or something), but I specifically remember that as an example of how just knowing a bunch of stuff about numbers and probability can affect gambling, and that if I'm ever going to get into it I'm going to learn the hell out of the odds before I do anything!

(I seem to recall some mention of the casino staff asking him to leave because he was winning so much so fast, but maybe I imagined that)

Only eventually when they realised the popularity of HTML. http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring96/0113.html

LOB.

I agree with you. If you look at M$ failed attempt with Blackbird (which was for html and www) in the 90's you will see that Silverlight is a second attempt on media for internet.

I would stay away from Silverlight like it was cancer!

http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/comment/2086343/propr ietary-standards-grow-online (article on Blackbird)

http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring96/0113.htm l (another article)

There are reasons to support communities instead of business. Microsoft is one of them!

Its reasonable to request distributions that are heavily based on Linux and GNU to mention GNU in their name.

How do you think new words happen? People define them. So, I took that authority.

Bruce, I'd like to pin down precisely when you claim you defined (some would say redefined) the meaning of the phrase "Open Source". I haven't found any information yet on when that supposedly occurred. I ask because of two pieces of data I have located. One of them is an october 1996 press release from Caldera in which the phrase "Open Source" is clearly used to describe the conditions of release for Caldera OpenDOS. ESR Claims that the term was invented in 1998. And in your own document entitled The Open Source Definition you state the following:

"The Open Source Definition started life as a policy document of the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution. Debian, an early Linux system and one still popular today, was built entirely of free software. However, since there were other licenses than the Copyleft that purported to be free, Debian had some problem defining what was free, and they had never made their free software policy clear to the rest of the world. I was the leader of the Debian project, at that time, and I addressed these problems by proposing a Debian Social Contract and a Debian Free Software Guidelines in July, 1997."

This leaves the question somewhat up in the air. If you first sought to define the term in the DSC and/or DFSG in 1997, then clearly you are a latecomer to the party. And if you did this thing in 1997, or even earlier, why does ESR claim it happened in 1998? Is it the truth, rivalry, or ignorance? I have no particular reason to believe ESR over yourself (and one or two reasons not to, but let us put those aside for the moment) and thus I am only seeking clarification.

ESR actually goes on to mention you in his document which places the event in 1998:

"Linus Torvalds endorsed the idea the day after that first meeting. We began acting on it within a few days after. Bruce Perens had the <opensource.org> domain registered and the first version of the Open Source website up within a week. He also suggested that the Debian Free Software Guidelines become the `Open Source Definition', and began the process of registering `Open Source' as a certification mark so that we could legally require people to use `Open Source' for products conforming to the OSD."

Would you please do us the courtesy of clarifying these issues? I realize that I may becoming across as rude or obsequious, but please believe that finding out the truth so that I can steer people correctly is more important to me than being right, or you being wrong.

Except for the fact that they really suck...

Blackbird reincarnated? (Microsoft playing the same game at a later date)

Since Linux can proform well with latest standards in media, Microsoft is pushing a new on of their own to mess this up.

They tried to do this once before with BLACKBIRD.

http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/comment/2086343/propr ietary-standards-grow-online

http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring96/0113.htm l

At the time of Blackbird, it was Microsofts secret weapon against on-line services, such as America Online, and the W3C group. (that was Microsofts big enemies at the time.)

Silverlight is just the same type of combative propietery software to make the same issues for linux (incompatibility issues so people will not want to run it anymore and stick with XP and Vista.)

Becarefull to adopt propriety software such as Silverlight as it puts limits to your use of your computer and your choice! It also seems to push up the cost of something that could be free of charge.

Hope everyone can at least take that in to consideration.

In this document, they talk about leaking information to "Spencer or Cringely" to continue the smear campaign against Digital Research. The referenced Cringely is likely Robert X. Cringely (and confirms a lot of what I've suspected about that particular column anyway). But who is Spencer?

This is one of the longest running, most prevalent urban legends. See 1, 2, 3.

... you can never trust a Canadian. Next thing you know, we'll be supplying your natural resources!

If you haven't heard it yet I suggest you do. http://www.xent.com/aug00/0718.html The song is called "Pinch Me", it was an advance release Barenaked Ladies put on Napster with funny occasional messages mixed in the song. The entire song was there, just with pauses with the band talking.

My gut feeling is that this coalition is mostly talk and not much walk: read a few posts up and Avril's CD/DVD's are apparently all DRM'd to hell and back. I haven't bought the latest BNL CD but the rest are DRM free.

No, I agree with this point.

But those aren't skill trainers, those two are a theory trainer and a recruitment tool. I agree that the theory of cover and target to target movement can be taught in a video game. You could probably teach firefight awareness too.

What you can't teach is how to shoot that gun effectively. Handle the recoil, control your pulse, breath out and squeeze - game simulation can't do it.

Now, VR Simulation, that's a different story...

The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. I don't mean that in a small way. I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas and they don't bring much culture into their products. I have no problem with their success -- they've earned their success for the most part. I have a problem with the fact that they just make really third-rate products.

[Quoted from FoRK Archive.]

http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/spring97/0247.htm l

I guess he thought the Internet was as poorly designed as the first incarnation of Ethernet that he designed.

After my last trip from Miami to Australia I got curious about the longest scheduled airline flight these days. It seems that as of last summer there's a Newark-to-Singapore flight, SQ 21, that lasts 18 hours and 35 minutes non-stop on a stripped-down (no first class!) Airbus 340-500. (The return, SQ 22, is a bargain at only 18:25.) The distance is 9534 statute miles (8285 nautical miles); the article is in error on this.

Of course, things were worse in the old days. There used to be 21-23 hour nonstop flights from London to the U.S. west coast on Lockheed L-1649A Super Constellation Starliners (see Starliner if you'd like to buy your own), but perhaps the all-time record is held by KLM:

"Perhaps the most famous day in the early history of KLM was October 1, 1931, when the airline began regular passenger service between Amsterdam and Batavia (now known as Jakarta in Indonesia) using Fokker F.12 aircraft fitted with four luxury seats. The trip lasted 10 entire days, including 81 hours of flying time. It was the longest regularly scheduled flight offered by any airline in the world."

Isn't Marc Andreesen credited with the tag?

(The reference shows that it was an evil -- why not <Object> for any kind of extra inserted file? -- Andreesen did while at NCSA. The <Blink> tag was invented by Lou Montulli; additional reference if the wikipedia isn't sufficiently trustworthy).

Here's a more thorough article about what Jobs did "to save Apple" referencing a PBS article. http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/july97/0632.html

And here's another one, with some quotes:

"For right now, though, a $150 million investment really does keep Apple going"

"Well, the $150 million gets Apple a little new lease on life."

See: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cyberspace/july-dec 97/apple_8-6.html

So, far from everything being rosy, and this just being another deal, it was viewed at the time (and still is) as being a deal which kept Apple going. If you'll recall, Jobs and Gates were far from the best of chums before this.

Only if it says somewhere in the license agreement that it does. Which, I believe, it will. Otherwise, you have no right to make a copy and send it to the other IP, by the strict letter of copyright law.

You're right, it's not part of copyright law. But uploading is part of the BT protocol, and when you release a file on BT you have to expect people will upload. It would be an implicit contract if it wasn't mentioned (quote: "You made an implicit contract when you went through the socially conventional mechanisms for eating at a restaurant, thereby accepting the socially conventional, implied contract for doing so.").

Didn't Cisco stole technology at the first place? http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/2001-December/0 07210.html call it backfire

From "the guy" himself: http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/july97/0045.html

It was turned into a weather forecaster for the Atlanta Olympics. I dunno what happened to it after that.

Secret tests conducted there in violation of environmental laws continue to be sequestered by Presidential order.

It really is too bad that Apple won't release an operating system for Intel hardware. I mean, I know that Steve Jobs was paid off to drop the project.

A pity, really. I would have paid lots for an Apple-on-Intel OS. I still think that they should still do it, though this would likely result in the assasination of most of Apple's management.

They could auction off the first few hundred thousand copies as "collectors editions". I'd probably pay a few hundred.

So I read the article, and was puzzled why a Forbes editor would ask a company with 13 billion in market capitalization to just fold up shop. So I googled on the author, Malone, and found some interesting gossip. He evidently went to elementary school with Steven Jobs. When Apple was on the outs (remember when Malone suggested Apple should just fold up shop?) Malone wrote a slanderously nasty book about Woz, Jobs, and apple. Here's a sample of from a web page that corrected some of Malone's numerous mistakes:

Malone, the editor of Forbes ASAP, reserves his most caustic remarks for Jobs, with whom he attended elementary school. He asserts that by the age of 19, Jobs had been ''involved in numerous felonies'' and was a drug user, bulimic, liar and cheat -- and went downhill from there. As the head of Apple, Malone says, Jobs was ''a lunatic megalomaniac,'' ''an executive horror and spoiled brat'' who was ''smelly,'' ''paranoid,'' ''vicious and belittling.''
http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/apr99/0054.html

Wow. The guy is a total tool. It's not like he wrote just one bad column in his life. Just going on what google kicks up, it seems like every week we puts his foot in his mouth. But I guess it's like Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern. People don't necessarily like or agree with them, but tune in to listen to them make a complete train wreck out of journalism. It must be the same thing with Malone.

I guess it's one way to make a living. It probably pays better than other media-stunt professions like hosting Fead Factor, denying the moon landing, or mongering JFK conspiracy theories (or more recently, 9-11 conspiracy theories).

Meditative sneezing... god what next...*rolleyes*

Using Ethanol as a fuel is mostly a way to funnel money to Corn Belt farmers.

The New York Times ran an interesting story about agriculture and obesity in October, basically discussing how, among other things, American corn has traditionally been so overproduced that corn-growers are desperate to find ways to use it. In the 19th century, the solution was to use it to make alcohol-- the average US citizen's consumption of corn-based alcohol then was more than FIVE times what it is now.

Following the backlash against drinking alcohol around the turn of the century, now much of the corn glut is used as a cheep sweetener. Corn syrup has replaced sugar in most sodas, candy, etc since the 1980s. The article suggests that the move from corn-alcohol to corn-syrup is responsible for the 60% obesity increase plus dramatic increases in "adult-onset" Diabetes.

So is the corn-as-fuel studies a similar way to answer the question-- how do we get rid of all this corn?

Also, see this NYTimes editorial. Some interesting stats in there as well.

W

Hey, what are you insinuating? Apple is the true innovator in this industry!

No doubt. I mean, Muhammad Ali is The Greatest and all, but he is a terrible spokesman. (Remember when Gil Amelio rolled him out at Macworld, just before he was fired?) Get someone who is intelligible and we might have something.

The only way Nasdaq will begin delisting procedures is if a stock has traded for under $1 a share for 30 days. This post explains more about how this process works. There are things a company can do to prevent delisting, but for the most part it is inevitable for stocks that trade at $1 a share long term.

Here is an interesting couple of articles on identity theft by Robert X. Cringely (or Mark Stephens, depending on your version of reality).

Ego, Super-ego, and ID Theft
How to Steal $65 Billion

You're wrong.

Just because grads happen to give some significance to powers of ten doesn't automatically make them metric. They're far too arbitrary to enter the league of extraordinary units that is the SI.

Let's not forget that Cringely got caught for his long-time claim that he had a PhD and taught at Stanford.

-Waldo Jaquith

Already covered back in the olden-times of the net, archived here ref. bringing the Moon to the Earth.

Does not sound pretty no matter how gently it is done.

Indeed, L0pht heavy Industries was the hacker group who had merged with @stake a few years back.

They became the "research and development" division of @stake apparently...

here is the link to an archived press release talking about the merger:
http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/jan00/0035.html

From what happened to Dr. Geer we can see that the spirit of the L0pht is really gone now.

But he said better personalization is one way to improve searching. For example, if MSN knows that the computer user searching for "pizza" lives in a specific ZIP code, it can deliver results of pizza places in that ZIP code.

That's exactly why I *won't* want to use this new search engine. If I want to find pizza places in my zip code, I'll do it myself, thank you.

Crap, if I wanted internet that logged into me, I'd already have it.

Scour.net co-founder Travis Kalanick is also running for CA governor, focusing on what he calls a "P2P" platform. Why are you a geekier candidate than he is?

Here are a few links about it->
1
2
3

It's good to know where the cut-off point is for this particular piece of evidence. But this ancient UNIX (V7 and before) could be the source of any duplicated code (assuming there is any significant duplicated code). IBM may have nothing to do with this.

At any rate, anything found in V7 and before can no longer be called a trade secret.

The History of Open Source and Why It's Important (December 1999)

Microsoft employee considers using V7 (February 1999)

Slashdot poster's reference to "free" UNIX source license (March 2000)

Have you given a lot of thought to the inheritance tax? David Brin has;here is a link to a rather long post that includes a discussion of the subject. He made me a lot less anxious to see the tax done away with.

Carmack is many things, but not a fool. Perhaps you have made a misjudgment?

Actually the Robert X. Cringely that writes on pbs.org is only 1 person. He was one of the team who wrote the Cringely articles for Info World, but split off on his own, and after a lawsuit, won the right to use the name, but not exclusive of info world using it.

Early part of the story is here and here (same story, different site).

Well according to this it just spams Gnutella clients! I wouldn't bother if I were you, unless you want irritated users disconnecting you from the network.

"Consider a future where all appliances with power cords can be networked using universal plug and play including:

computers
telephones
stereos
even refrigerators"

http://www.powerlinecommunications.net/smarthomes. htm

Nice diagram of the LG I-fridge as a "Residential Gateway":
http://www.slfp.com/011302BIZp.htm

"Internet Refrigerator"
http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/may98/0121.html

"Can Your Refrigerator Surf?"
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,14675,00 . sp

But, most of all, I want to point out the comments that my own company makes about *its* I-fridge:

"We created the first Internet refrigerator to show how the Internet will merge into our everyday lives"
http://au.fujitsu.com/FAL/CDA/Articles/0,1029,546, 00.html