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AT&T Joins The Linux Foundation as a Platinum Member (linuxfoundation.org)

Posted by msmash on from the interesting-moves dept.

From a press release: The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit advancing professional open source management for mass collaboration, today announced that AT&T has become a Platinum member. This follows news of the company's contribution of several million lines of ECOMP code to The Linux Foundation, as well as the new Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) Project based on production-ready code from AT&T and OPEN-O contributors. Chris Rice, senior vice president of AT&T Labs, joins The Linux Foundation Board of Directors and was also recently selected as the ONAP chairman. "Open source is crucial to AT&T's software transformation," said Chris Rice, chairman of ONAP and senior vice president of AT&T Labs. "So, it was a natural decision for us to join The Linux Foundation. SDN is helping us meet performance, capital spending and efficiency goals and we expect continued benefits. But more so, we recognize that the open source community accelerates innovation. We're excited to work with The Linux Foundation and its members to promote a globally accepted platform for SDN and NFV technologies."

40 comments

  1. Linux jumped the shark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I refuse to have anything at all to do with ATT. Ever again.

    1. Re:Linux jumped the shark by bjwest · · Score: 1

      So.... You going back to Windows?

      --

      --- Keep the choice with the user..
    2. Re:Linux jumped the shark by sabbede · · Score: 1

      Microsoft is also a platinum member.

  2. Amusing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Although I know this isn't the same company that invented Unix, this is still funny.

    1. Re:Amusing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Money talks, nobody walks

    2. Re:Amusing by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      As it was in the beginning
      Is now and ever shall be
      Unix without end
      And Windows abend..

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    3. Re:Amusing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      After SCO's demise, who now owns the SVRx code and specifications? SCO has UnixWare that was SVR5, and Oracle has Solaris that is still SVR4.x. But the successor company to SCO - Xinuos - has made an OpenServer OS which is based on FreeBSD, rather than SVR5 or anything like it. Which then begs the question - who owns SVR 4 & 5?

  3. And so it begins. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AT&T was split into a million pieces and it slowly grows back together taking over anything and everything it touches.

    1. Re:And so it begins. by Anon-Admin · · Score: 1

      So, AT&T is just like the Leviathan on supernatural.

    2. Re:And so it begins. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know right? Shouldn't the article read "AT&T slowly beings to absorb the life-essence of Linux Foundation" ?

  4. I'd be concerned by DaMattster · · Score: 1

    AT&T is known to cooperate with government on wholesale spying. So, by joining the Linux Foundation, they can effectively introduce backdoors into the TCP/IP stack or any of it's contributions to SDN.

    1. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Linux kernel is in danger and nobody is able to prevent it as there just is no community decision mechanism. All is managed from a totalitarian Torvald point of view. Terrible news.

    2. Re:I'd be concerned by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      I was just going to say.. Microsoft is getting involved with Linux, now AT&T? How much longer, do you all think, before there are enough big, nosy, control-freak corporate entities involved with Linux, to subvert it into just another spyware/malware platform like Windows? At some point I'm sure they'd manage to do away with this silly inconvenient 'open source' nonsense, seeing as how they'll have invested all the time and money and manpower into it, right?

      So, when Linux is fully owned and subverted, what will the next 'free open source' operating system be called?

    3. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe RMS can put on some ninja gear and start taking out AT&T senior management.

    4. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What will the next one be called? It has always been called FreeBSD.

    5. Re:I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      systemdOS

    6. Re:I'd be concerned by StormReaver · · Score: 1

      At some point I'm sure they'd manage to do away with this silly inconvenient 'open source' nonsense, seeing as how they'll have invested all the time and money and manpower into it, right?

      There are some serious obstacles to that, the most obvious being:

      1) They would have to get copyright law changed so that it is no longer valid.

      or

      2) They would have to rewrite Linux themselves.

      or

      3) They would have to contact all the copyright holders, and convince them to sell out.

      In short, don't lose any sleep over your concerns.

    7. Re:I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are already there. Face it -- "open source" was always about corporate re-gaining control of something which, for a short time, had escaped the Eye of Mordor.

      'twas nice while it lasted.

      More seriously: I haven't given up yet, but I spell "open source" like "Free Software". And I'm weird.

    8. Re:I'd be concerned by GerryGilmore · · Score: 2

      You are crazy, or you know absolutely nothing about how code is integrated into the Linux kernel and other software stacks. Seriously, has the whole fucking country become nothing but an asylum of conspiracy-nutcases? Crikey!!

    9. Re: I'd be concerned by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      NetBSD, actually. Those 80386-only hackers are just lazy sots.

    10. Re: I'd be concerned by meunier.norm · · Score: 1

      So it looks like all the enemies of computing freedom and privacy are becoming Platinum members. I am starting to wonder who is vetting applicants. It looks as if they're using the same tactic used to get a "heart smart" logo attached to unhealthy food. All you need to do is hand over a wad of cash.

    11. Re: I'd be concerned by meunier.norm · · Score: 1

      Nothing good ever seems to last. Money doesn't buy happiness, just influence.

    12. Re:I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Canonical already hands over all telemetry to the government, which is not anonymized. Anyone running Ubuntu has the NSA in their machines 24/7.

      AT&T couldn't possibly do worse.

    13. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There is a video out there somewhere of Linus at a keynote answering the question, "Has the government ever asked you to add a backdoor to Linux?" Linus responded, "No," while nodding his head yes.

    14. Re:I'd be concerned by sabbede · · Score: 1

      "Big, nosy, control-freak corporate entities" like Oracle, Cisco, Samsung, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Facebook, Lenovo or ZTE? (take a look: https://www.linuxfoundation.or...)

    15. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gRsgkdfYJ8

    16. Re: I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are alternatives, like a few separate BSD forks, as well as Minix

    17. Re:I'd be concerned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      emacs on systemd

  5. That's no moon.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a trap

  6. Ouch... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    Is it just me or there has been a whole number of corporations and businesses that are basically the epitome of anti-free software as they can be becoming platinum, gold, silver and whatnot members of the Linux Foundation?

    1. Re:Ouch... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Follow the money, corporations aren't the only ones doing it.

    2. Re:Ouch... by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      The ultimate irony is that Microsoft is a platinum member.

  7. Yep. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Time to fork the Open Source community, assuming there are enough of us left with the idealism and skills to make a go of it.

    Much like hacker, nerd, geek, etc, now open source is being co-opted by the corporations and diluted in meaning. The only way to work around this is starting a new niche until it too becomes too commercially popular and we have to jump ship again..

    Along with the build a bigger idiot rule, there should be a rule about how any worthwhile niche seeking mass approval will eventually be coopted by the masses and corrupted beyond recognition.

    1. Re:Yep. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Already exists. It's called the Free Software Foundation (FSF) - but currently, afaik, it's the alter ego of RMS. If they could get a more conventional leader, like say Bruce Perens, they might go somewhere.

  8. About Damn Time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given how much of their network infrastructure relies on it.

  9. Don't forget by fredrated · · Score: 1

    the original AT&T created Unix.

    1. Re:Don't forget by alexborges · · Score: 1

      Then proceded to sue the pants off Berkeley ... ah the Unix wars... those were the days, maaaaan....

      --
      NO SIG
  10. About Time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe now, AT&T will allow people to register their modems using Linux.
    Maybe now, AT&T customer support will stop asking if people are using "Windows" or "Mac".
    Maybe now, AT&T will not consider Linux an "unsupported platform".

  11. About feckin' time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's about feckin' time they did! Hopefully they'll bring good know-how, instead of a big pile of shite like microcrap.

  12. Frenemy by Trelaine · · Score: 1

    AT&T's motives have to be covertly hostile.