Slashdot Mirror
EDS Silent On New CEO's IT Consulting Past
theodp writes "Slate reports on the press release issued by IT consulting giant EDS to announce new CEO Michael H. Jordan that curiously doesn't show Jordan to have any experience in the IT consulting field. In the late '90s, Jordan helped create IT consulting firm Luminant, took it public, and served as chairman of its board for 21 months. Luminant raised $80+ million from its IPO and paid $422 million to buy businesses as part of its pure-play roll-up strategy before filing Chapter 11 and having its assets sold for a mere $3 million. Slashdot readers may remember Luminant as the wacky workplace of My Fake Job, in which an ex-"Late Night" writer described 17 days he spent faking a job at the dot-com."
What is the GPL?
The GPL, GNU General Public License, is a license boilerplate that the FSF, Free Software Foundation, has put forward to be adopted by software developers that are creating software. The GPL has some fundamental flaws that may actually make one wonder if people using the GPL license really understand the license.
First, one must understand that the ideals behind the GPL are that software should be 'free', meaning that you should be able to buy it, modify it, redistribute it, support it, etc. Many people, myself included, didn't really understand the license agreement and it is obvious that the FSF must get dozens of questions like that because they hide behind a boilerplate link to a page on their site.
Therein lies one major hurdle. Another problem is that many people are under the impression that if it is GPL, the software should carry no cost. The FSF says that nothing could be further from the truth, however, the GPL ingeniously assures this because of its distribution clause. The first person to buy an application is generously allowed to distribute the code and the source, removing any financial incentive from original software author.
Even the FSF has no idea how to build a business around software that is released GPL. I posed that question, and their response was fuzzy and vague. It was suggested that I run a different division to fund the software development division. As a business owner, why run a division that is a cost center if it isn't needed.
With that in mind, lets consider a few scenarios dealing with GPL software. The FSF clearly states that someone can charge whatever amount they want for software and the source code. So, you take a contract with a company to develop software, do the right thing and release it GPL. You sell it to your client for $500, thinking, I spent dozens of hours writing this, I'll put a reasonable cost on there so that I can resell hundreds of them.
Fair enough.
But, what happens if I, as a client, buy your software along with the source and decide, hey, this is good stuff, let me sell it for $100 and flood the market. What happens to your income? It is gone. Someone else is making the money off your product -- your efforts. Even better, I can decide to distribute the software at no cost. And what you have to show for it is a license that allows your clients to do precisely that. Freedom.
Lets analyze the flip side. Lets say that you decide to write the software and charge the client for every minute of your work. The client ends up with a software product that cost them $40000. Now, you decide that you want to resell that software. What price do you put on it knowing that your next client could decide to distribute it? If you cut the price too much, the client that paid you to do the development won't rehire you since you have given his competitor the tools to compete more easily. Companies generally dislike funding software development for their competitors.
How about an idea you have that will revolutionize the world. Don't release that under GPL, there is no intellectual property protection. Have some secret way of doing something that is better than the way it is currently being done? Might as well just get rid of your competitive edge because the GPL will strip you of any rights you might have to that.
See, the GPL in its Marxist form is a fine thought, but what does it really do?
The GPL creates hundreds of software products that are mimic's of their commercial counterpart, many of which are poor imitations. Yes, I know, the market is new and there are years of existing software development to catch up with. But, most of these software developers have a job and do this as a hobby or are paid by a company to write software released under the GPL. But what have we done? We've turned over development to armchair developers. This isn't to say that there aren't good software projects developed under GPL, but they are in the minority.
Without singling out any applic
I'm sure timothy knows all about faking a job
"Only the Goatse"
y ah
y ah
Sung to the tune of: "Only The Lonely"
Performed by Roy Orbison
Dum-dum-dum-dum-dee-du-wah
Ooh-yeah-yeah-yeah-
Oh-woh-woh-woh-o oh-wa-wah
Only the goatse, only the goatse
Only the goatse
The man's anus, is not that tight
Only the goatse
So loose, it's not a pretty sight
There goes his rectum
Just ripped a fart
He spreads his ass-cheeks so far apart
But only the goatse
Asshole in your eye
Only the goatse
Dum-dum-dum-dum-dee-du-wah
Ooh-yeah-yeah-yeah-
Oh-woh-woh-woh-o oh-wa-wah
Only the goatse, only the goatse
Only the goatse
I saw the butt-plugs you've been through
Only the goatse
I know how hard it is to poo
So painful to see at a first glance
I'd feel sorry but you're from France
How it must ache
What a stupid mistake
Only the goatse
But is this Micheal Jordan the same Micheal Jordon who played basketball or is this someone else?
...and IN SOVIET RUSSIA, beowulf clusters imagine 1, 2, 3 profit!!!! jokes made out of YOU!!!
I would argue that they are not Evil enough, but I'm The Devil so I guess that doesn't count.