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SOUP is Good for You

Posted by michael on from the waiter,-there's-a-gnome-in-my-soup dept.

raelity writes "CNet is running a story about Ximian, nee Helix Code, planning to bring Web Services a la Microsoft's .NET to *nix operating systems by incorporating "SOUP" (a play on SOAP) into the Gnome user interface. "While tech kingpins such as Microsoft and Oracle have rushed to one-up each other in introducing Web-delivered software, Ximian is doing work behind the scenes to make sure Web services can run on the Linux and Unix operating systems.""

2 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. SOAP==the end of free software by lukel · · Score: 5
    I'm going to say something that may appear controversial, but please hear me through.

    While tech kingpins such as Microsoft and Oracle have rushed to one-up each other in introducing Web-delivered software, Ximian is doing work behind the scenes to make sure Web services can run on the Linux and Unix operating systems.

    While web-delivered software seems like a good idea, I wonder what the consequences for free software are. Obliviously free software isn't going to go away - but I see it becoming a less viable alternative. There are several reasons for this.

    (1) If software is delivered via the web, you will require someone else's computing power at the other end of the line. Someone has to pay for this. As the recent experience of the dotcoms shows, business models based on giving stuff away free almost invariable don't work. Software provides will have to be paid for the service they provide. So an end to the free beer aspect of software.

    (2) If software is running on remote server's, then even if it is covered by an open source licence, in many cases, the people running the severs will not be distributing binaries, so won't be required to provided source code for any changes they make. Hence an end to the free speech aspect of free software.

    Sure, not everyone will use web delivered software, so open source software will continue to be used by niche users. However, once the mainstream embrace web delivered software (and this is likely since its being pushed by MS and Sun et al), open source software will be permanently confined to the backwaters. This will mean its benefits will only be enjoyed by a select few.

    1. Re:SOAP==the end of free software by Pengo · · Score: 5


      Nahh...

      Think of it like this. I will compare web content to driving a car or using public transportation.

      Public transportation on paper a better idea. Leverage of shared resources hence savings, better for environment, easier to manage, more reliable (arguably).

      Now, why do people choose to still purchase vehicles in conjested city areas?

      ... ownership.

      You can't feel ownership of a remotely managed and remotely owned application. Human nature tells us to achieve to OWN not RENT. (There are soooo many paralells in society that have 'washed' us to believe this.)

      I know this mentality pretty well as I co-own a fairly sucessful ASP business in England (.. but I am an american, btw) . I go to market and I face these same 'issues' every day.. even in dealing with something such as a business-to-business workflow integration system.

      I believe that this could be the big blow for MS that frankly they don't need right now. They seem to have forgotten the most important factor in the tech-market.. the fickle consumer.

      Who knows, maybe Apple will learn from their mystakes..... but believe me. Free software ain't goin anywhere.




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      Would you like a Python based alternative to PHP/ASP/JSP?