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Alan Moves from B3 to Red Hat UK

Posted by Hemos on from the ending-paper-relationships dept.

Sarge_97 wrote to us with the latest from Alan Cox [?] 's diary. With Red Hat's movement into Europe, and the creation of Red Hat UK, he'll be closing Building Number 3 and going to work for Red Hat UK. This is, of course, no change in what was actually going on anyway.

disclaimer:Hemos owns shares in red hat

7 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. journalism disclosures by Jim+Efaw · · Score: 3

    IFAIK, this is standard journalist ethics. All news organizations are supposed to announce if they have a vested interest in the subject of a news story. Of course, some "journalist" organizations, in their giant conglomerate glory, have probably decided that things like disclosures aren't as important as fitting in another 7.5 second commercial or garage sale ad.

    Also, not to rag on Hemos (who I trust), but the "117 bytes in body" link reminded me of something else: I can see some organizations in the future shoving their disclosures into some inconvenient section of their production (half-second message at 5% of TV height at the end of the show, or stuffed into small type in the "copyright & legal" section) and then claim they're meeting ethical standards. I'm one of those pushy types that think that disclosures need to be as prominent as the news report.

    Come to think of it, Slashdot is also one of the few organizations I see that still posts corrections with the same priority as the original reports. That's another "minor" thing most billion-dollar precooked news companies don't think are important enough to bother with.

  2. AC w/ RedHat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3
    How come the community openly supports major Linux developers working for companies with vested interest in Linux? It seems like a conflict of interest. I mean, we can trust Alan to not do things that are bad for Linux, but he does have to report to RedHat managers every day and they can quitely push agendas.

    Maybe this is a little paranoid, but RedHat employs a large chunk of the Linux kernel developers (as well as apps). This is fine, because there are checks and balances in place (ie, Linus has the last laugh), but Alan controls the stable tree. This is not a good idea in my mind. I like the fact that Linus is employed by a company that has no immediate interest in the success or failure of Linux. It keeps Linus honest. Can we say the same for Alan?

    1. Re:AC w/ RedHat by um...+Lucas · · Score: 3

      So long as AC is working on the kernel, all his work is GPL'ed... So whatever he does benefits everyone else too. And if it seemed he were distracted by other interests (his or his managers, if he even has any there...) then Linus would probably hand off AC's responsibilities to someone else....

  3. Commute.. no chance by Alan+Cox · · Score: 4

    I'm staying put - right here.

  4. IR35 related? by sparks · · Score: 4
    In the Uk, up 'til now there have been significant tax advantages to operating through your own incorporated company - i.e. you only end up paying about 40% of your income in tax as opposed to 50%. Lots of computer people in a high income bracket have been operating this way for several years.

    The government (bless 'em) have decided that that's quite unfair and have introduced this new IR35 thing that basically makes the whole system unaffordable.

    (Naturally, computer contractors have very portable skills, and can easily work in Europe or the States for a few months at a time and pay very little tax anywhere. And now lots more will have an incentive to do so - so overall, the UK government could lose tax income because of this. But who ever accused politicans of thinking things out?)

    Anyway, there are no longer any advantages to having your own company, and lots of disadvantages (paperwork, hassle, tax inspections), so lots of contractors are "going permie" - especially those on long-term contracts.

    I wonder if that's one of the factors behind Alan making this move? He wouldn't be alone.

  5. Flip the coin - there is another side... by IIH · · Score: 3
    I like the fact that Linus is employed by a company that has no immediate interest in the success or failure of Linux. It keeps Linus honest. Can we say the same for Alan?
    Yes, you could be concerned (but shouldn't, IMO) that Alan is employed by Redhat so he may have a vested interest in keeping Redhat happy, but you can also flip it completely. Redhat employ Alan, so you could say that Redhat may have a vested interest in keeping Alan happy, so it keeps RedHat honest!

    One of RedHats major selling points is that they are well regarded by the linux developers, and employ several of them. If the devolopers had cause to leave, Redhat would go rapidly downhill because of the two, Redhat would lose the most if ac and RHAT parted company.

    --
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    Exigo spamos et dona ferentes
  6. New moderation category required by Stephen+Williams · · Score: 3

    "Ex-Segfault poster"

    -Stephen