Should RISC OS be Open Sourced?

An anonymous reader writes "Aficionados of RISC OS are in a dilemma. With RISC OS Ltd, one of the main developers of the OS, in financial trouble, should RISC OS be open sourced? Users and developers say yes, citing the current slow development of the platform in the hands of its owners. However, Paul Middleton, RISC OS Ltd MD, said, 'It is one thing to release software as open source so that people can look at the source code and help sort out the troublesome problems that "many hands can make light work of". It is completely another to simply say that the source should be freely available to anyone to do with as they like.' Paul also had reservations regarding 'the fragmentation seen in the open source world, such as the number of different Linux distributions and end user support nightmare entailed from that situation.'"

Comments

Joke of the day

[suso]

Isn't that what the OS stands for?

*ta dit boom*

Re:Joke of the day

[Anonymous Coward]

I hate that open source has hijacked "OS".

Re:Joke of the day

[chris_eineke]

ta dit boom

Your drummer sucks.

Re:Of course it should be Open Sourced.

[suso]

Open Source: Where old software goes to die!

I thought they went to Computer Associates? [1]

Re:Alternative

[tobybuk]

Looks like Windows 3.1 did - you call the progress? Maybe this is a project to take us back to the console? Good progress already made.

Re:Chapter 11 is another option.

[Anonymous Coward]

" ahhh yes! The old "if you build it, they will come" mentality.."

If you don't build it then they are guarenteed not to come.

Re:Chapter 11 is another option.

[edittard]

I'm kinda intrigued by this concept of places that aren't in the USA ... do you have, like, a newsletter or something I could sign up to?

Where has this guy been?

[glengineer]

(Voice of Jennifer Anniston) OH MY GAWD!(/voice) Hasn't this guy seen what open source has done to revive dead/dying systems? Of course, they have to write the GPL correctly, but fer cryin' out loud, hasn't Open Source proved itself as a viable revenue generation model? RISC operating systems would be great for those appliance applications where a full-up OS doesn't fit, like toasters and automobiles, for example. And Oh, by the way, protect the "rights' of those who developed it.