Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

NTP's Fate Hinges On "Father Time"

Posted by samzenpus on from the time-will-tell dept.

Esther Schindler writes In April, one of the open source code movement's first and biggest success stories, the Network Time Protocol, will reach a decision point, writes Charlie Babcock. At 30 years old, will NTP continue as the preeminent time synchronization system for Macs, Windows, and Linux computers and most servers on networks? Or will this protocol go into a decline marked by drastically slowed development, fewer bug fixes, and greater security risks for the computers that use it? The question hinges to a surprising degree on the personal finances of a 59-year-old technologist in Talent, Ore., named Harlan Stenn.

5 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Not only finances are an issue by macraig · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At 59 years old, statistically Mr. Stenn isn't going to live long enough to maintain NTP for another 30 years. Perhaps something so crucial should be a voluntary communal effort?

  2. Re:/. is not kickstarter by snowsnoot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes but there are an assload of companies out there making a shit-tonne of cash using these FOSS programs and not contributing in any way whatsoever. Its a complete disgrace and they should be exposed for the cheapskates they are.

  3. Protocol vs software that implements it by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The summary makes the mistake of conflating the NTP protocol with the messy NTP software developed by ntp.org.

    .
    Hopefully the ntp.org software fades away.

    However, the Network Time Protocol should live on in more secure and more easily maintained implementations (e.g., NTimed and OpenNTPd).

  4. Re:100 hours a week? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For someone who's so deeply invested in managing the Network Time Protocol, this dude really doesn't seem to be able to manage his time very well.

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  5. Re:Fewer bug fixes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Everybody loves us," Stenn said. "But people with money say, 'We don't give to open source projects.'"

    They don't give to GPL projects.

    They hire BSD developers (CUPS, Clang, etc) because they can keep the parts closed they want.