Slashdot Mirror
Sun Exec Backs GPLv3
Hyperbeth writes "Sun's chief open-source officer Simon Phipps said that existing work towards GPLv3 had been 'extraordinary and effective' and he said he is 'frankly amazed by the criticisms'. The article notes that Mr. Phipps' comments are somewhat surprising, given that the recent open-sourcing of Java went forward with GPLv2." From the article: "I am frankly amazed by the criticisms that have [been] levelled at the GPLv3 process. They seem to ignore the incredible and positive way it is evolving and just find fault with things that are already the subject of work... I would be very surprised if the final GPLv3 was not an effective tool for some of the communities Sun sustains or will initiate in the future."
> Didn't these folks come out swinging against Linux and OSS development long ago and far away?
Not only did sun come out swinging, they were a major financer of the scox scam. Sun has flip-flopped on linux more times than I can remember: first they love linux, then they hate linux, then they say that linux is only good for desktops, then they say that only sun can legally distribute linux, then they say that linux is java.
> Look, man, I'm glad they've "finally seen the light" and opened up their stuff (still CDDL for most of the code though, right?) but they've done it when it was convenient and when they've got something to gain now, not because it was the right thing to do.
That's sun for 'ya. They are as scitzo as any company can be. They were equally scitzo about the x86 architecture. Now they are scitzo about the GPL.