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Has Open Source Lost Its Halo?

Posted by Zonk on from the master-chief-awol dept.

PetManimal writes "Open-source software development once had a reputation as a grassroots movement, but it is increasingly a mainstream IT profit center, and according to Computerworld, some in the industry are asking whether 'open source' has become a cloak used by IT vendors large and small to disguise ruthless and self-serving behavior. Citing an online opinion piece by Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata Inc., the article notes that HP and IBM have not only profited from open-source at the expense of competitors, but have also boosted their images in the open-source community. The Computerworld article also mentions the efforts by the Microsoft/Windows camp to promote open-source credentials: '[InfoWorld columnist Dave] Rosenberg is more disturbed by the bandwagon jumpers: the companies, mostly startups, belatedly going open-source in order to ride a trend, while paying only lip service to the community and its values. Take Aras Corp., a provider of Windows-based product lifecycle management (PLM) software that in January decided to go open-source. Rosenberg depicted the firm in his blog as an opportunistic Johnny-Come-Lately. "I'm not impressed when a company whose software is totally built on Microsoft technologies goes open-source," said Rosenberg, who even suspects that the company is being promoted by Microsoft as a shill to burnish Redmond's image in open-source circles."'"

6 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. GPLv3 by tepples · · Score: 5, Informative

    But the GPL never said anything about me being able to hack my device. That's what GPLv3 intends to fix. If TiVo wants to use new versions of the GNU userland after the move to GPLv3, TiVo is going to need to quit with the lockout chip business model.
    1. Re:GPLv3 by Knuckles · · Score: 5, Informative

      FSF have no right to impose hardware restrictions on a manufacturer

      Yeah, and they don't. They just say "you cannot use my code for that".

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
    2. Re:GPLv3 by nuzak · · Score: 3, Informative

      > If TiVo wants to use new versions of the GNU userland after the move to GPLv3, TiVo is going to need to quit with the lockout chip business model.

      So is gcc now going to apply the GPLv3 to its output?

      Whether you like GPLv3 or not, Linux isn't changing its license. TiVo has nothing to be concerned about except that maybe they'll be locked out of the HURD.

      --
      Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
  2. This is a stupid argument by pyite69 · · Score: 3, Informative

    One of the big benefits of the GPL is that it helps businesses to protect themselves from bad vendor behavior.

    No, it is not a panacea. Anyone who thinks so will get what they probably deserve. However, it is certainly an improvement over what vendors of, say, closed-source accounting and CRM packages are able to do to their customers.

    Of course, there will still be slimy business behavior - that is what capitalism is all about.

  3. Re:There was an open source version of Halo? by Doches · · Score: 3, Informative

    By IBM I assume you mean the Eclipse Foundation, of which Borland is a member. In fact, future versions of Borland's IDE will be based on the Eclipse platform; I imagine that Borland was perfectly happy to see widespread adoption for Eclipse, since they'll be cashing in on that adoption soon.

  4. Re:No, no, no by mrscorpio · · Score: 3, Informative

    At Spinal Dot, our moderations go up to 6!