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How Microsoft-Yahoo Will Affect Open Source

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the something-to-think-about dept.

jammag writes "If the marriage of Microsoft and Yahoo were to be consummated, GNU/Linux would be hindered, argues Roy Schestowitz. Yahoo's funding of open source initiatives would dry up. Yahoo, which acquired Zimbra, would lose its love for the open source competitor of Microsoft Outlook. The list goes on..."

11 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. All the more reason..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    All the more reason why this deal should NOT go through....Anti-Competitive ? I think Microsoft would axe Zimbra in a heart beat.

    1. Re:All the more reason..... by renegadesx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think Microsoft would axe Zimbra in a heart beat.
      Yes they will, personally for me its care factor = 0. Thats the beauty of open source, you KNOW it will just get forked and the fork will basically be the successor. Look what happened to Mambo/Joomla for far less than axing it.

      For the web browser compatibility, I dont know. From what I've tested, Firefox/Linux works better on Microsoft sites than Yahoo so somehow I dont see it getting worse
      In the search market a combined search engine between the two still wont knock off Google as the "search king". It does kill off a Microsoft competitor but does Microsoft realise that they are more than anything else killing off a Google competitor?
      --
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  2. Zimbra Admins by Russianspi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yeah, administrators of Zimbra based E-mail servers (like me) are starting to panic I think a Google bailout/business alliance could be, as one Zimbra developer described it, "manna from heaven".

    1. Re:Zimbra Admins by IGnatius+T+Foobar · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The OSS version of Zimbra is just that, Open Source. Whatever happens there should be no change in that status.
      Unfortunately it's not true open source, as it has an obnoxious "badgeware" clause.

      Zimbra users already seem to be sending out some feelers -- over at the Citadel project we've had quite a surge of new interest from people who are either bailing out of Zimbra or simply evaluating what other options they might have when Microsoft shuts them down. Citadel is end-to-end GPL code so it is a true safety net.
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  3. Ok, so.. by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't understand how it would effect Linux (much less the GNU utilities), but it might slow down a few Y! projects. These projects, even if MS succeeds and stops all development on them, will still be continued if someone in the community thinks they are useful. That's the beauty of Open Source.

  4. del.icio.us Bookmarks by kc2keo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Should M$ aquire Yahoo! I sure hope my del.icio.us bookmarks will still be up and running. If so they better still work in FF/WindowsXP or FF/Kubuntu->Linux. Otherwise I'll just use the local FireFox bookmarks again. Backed up my bookmarks just in case... That would be a pretty big downer for my bookmarks to vanish or just stop working across different platforms...

  5. 10 minutes to fork both Zimbra & YUI by Qbertino · · Score: 3, Interesting

    From what I can tell skimming the YPL it takes nothing more than setting up a Sourceforge Project to fork each of these products. It was only a few years ago when Push&Pull JavaScript and a few guys competing with Exchange with a Web ASP were nothing but a handfull of nutcases.
    Apart from the corporate fuled buzz Yahoo is putting behind YUI and the consited branding of Zimbra there is absolutely nothing for FOSS to lose with this MS-Yahoo deal. On the contrary. We're watching the evil empire blowing ca. 50 billion on a pipe dream about going head-to-head with Google in search. That's fine with me.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  6. It gets worse by WindBourne · · Score: 4, Interesting

    MS currently has 10% of the market share of the search engines. Yahoo has about 1/3. Google has about 50% or more. If MS aquires Yahoo, they will convert it instantly to being live.com and will exclude all Linux systems. My guess is that sites that use apache will slowly see their searches be pushed back further and further in the MS engine. IOW, this is designed not to just take on Google, but to move companies off of Apache as well as punish all those that are not using Windows.

    And to think that just recently MS was released from Federal oversight. All of this makes a good case for either FTC to step in or for either IBM or even Sun to purchase Yahoo. Otherwise, those companies will see *nix take a HUGE hit on the net. For IBM it will hurt a bit, but for Sun, it will destroy them.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  7. Re:Ok by me by dpninerSLASH · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Please forgive me if this reply is a bit off-topic.

    Firstly, I don't believe GNU/Linux development will be seriously hindered. It's long since reached a tipping point past which any major disruptions are unlikely.

    This might be a good time, however, for people to begin looking at some of the BSDs. Yes, I realize Yahoo! is a major BSD customer, and should this deal go through I can't see Microsoft permitting the existence of anything else on their servers. Still, the BSDs are also widely deployed, reliable, and many would argue that the BSD license is less encumbering. Also, it has a formal foundation and governance which effectively ensures it's survival.

    I've been an open source user/administrator now for over 12 years (12 w/ Linux, 11 w/ BSD) and am surprised at the relatively low uptake for this family of operating systems. In short, Linux ain't the only game in town.

  8. Be quiet everyone. Let Microsoft buy Yahoo. by Otehake · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Most people have been aware of the large Microsoft warchest of billions with which they have been known to squash competition. Hence, one of the best ways to peg back Microsoft a few notches (and become less of a monopoly), is for them to lose some of this warchest. Watch as Microsoft spend the bulk of their warchest on Yahoo, influence Yahoo with their Microsoft leadership and business styles, people run away from such dictatorial practices, and Yahoo diminish in value until there is little value attached to the brand.

    Poof! Billions of Microsoft dollars gone up in smoke. So sssssshhhh... don't tell them they are making a very big mistake. Perhaps then they will start competing on valuable software and services.

  9. Re:Microsoft 2.0 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are very few open source products that are winning and/or dominant over their proprietary rivals. Open Standards: TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, IMAP, iCal
    Open Source: Apache, Tomcat, Linux (been in a server room lately?), MySQL, Perl, Python, Ruby, Rails, GNU Compiler Collection, Vim, Emacs, Netbeans, Solaris, Java, Glassfish, Sendmail, Postfix, Exim, OpenLDAP, ISC Bind.

    Look at all those loser applications. Give me a couple more minutes I might think of some more.

    Maybe you're stuck in an anachronistic office suite kind of existence, but few folks I know could care less about creating gratuitously formatted meeting minutes.

    I'm all for freedom, including your freedom to keep feeding your money to companies who do little more than capriciously alter their file formats and protocols on a semi-annual basis to compel otherwise useless upgrades. Of course, some folks just like to spend money to have shiny objects too. Fine with me, I do the same thing sometimes. Just remember, in a free market, victory goes to the most efficient and productive; and wasting money on services and software that have been commoditized is a loser.