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Hall On Worldwide Open Source Movement

Posted by simoniker on from the its-a-small-world-after-all dept.

adamsmith_uk writes "There's an article up on ZDNet summarizing an interesting speech from Jon "Maddog" Hall about non-US open-source, as well as protecting open-source from 'looters' - well worth a read: 'The open-source development community is an international treasure and should be protected as such, said veteran Linux advocate Jon "Maddog" Hall, in a talk in Birmingham, UK, that emphasized the role of open-source software outside the United States.'"

2 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Re:looters ? by dubStylee · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why would somebody using an open source code be called a 'looter'

    That is not who is being called a looter in TFA which you apparently didn't R. The looters mentioned in the article are an analogy for SCO. Maddog says that the world needs to step in and prevent SCO from destroying the international public treasure of the OSS the way the U.S. should have stepped in and prevented the destroying of the international public treasure in the Iraqi museums. He gives examples of Munich, the UK, and Brazil as places where local governments at one level or another are supporting OSS. He did not even remotely imply that someone using OSS would be a looter.

  2. Re:intentional Rand reference? by imsmith · · Score: 5, Interesting

    She may not have, but within her philosophy is the principle that when there is no expectation of assistance by those who cannot placed upon those who can AND there is no force to compel those can to act for the sake of those that cannot, there is a moral and just transaction that can take place between those that can and those that cannot, for the sake of those that can.

    In my mind, this is the model of transaction that Free software is strongest in, and that works the best.