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Open Source Weblog: February 2007 Archives
Google offers employees true choice on the desktop
February 28, 2007
“When you start work at Google, you get to choose whether you want a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer,” writes Scott Knaster, Mac Team Technical Writer at Google, offering some interesting insight into working life at Google, not to mention lunch at Apple.
It strikes me that the fact that this level of choice is so unusual is a fundamental reason why Linux is struggling to make an impact on the desktop.
Open source funding: the raw data
February 27, 2007
As promised, here's the raw data used to examine the rate of investment in open source software vendors.
For more number crunching and an explanation the selections take a look at this post, while for a more analytical look at what it all means, try this feature.
Below is the list of investments made between 2000 and 2006.
Open source funding: the complete picture
Back in December 2006 I posted a blog entry noting the rapid increase in VC funding for open source software vendors during 2006 as well as a note admitting that the figures were not claimed to be exhaustive.
In an attempt to fill in the gaps I spent the week before Christmas trawling the web and emailing open source vendors. This month’s feature on VC funding is a result of that, as is the fact that we can now claim to have a complete picture of the amount of money invested in open source software vendors since 2000.
Here are headline figures: VCs invested $475.2m in Linux and open source-related vendors in 2006, up 61.6% from $294.0m in 2005. The total amount raised since 2000: $1.89bn.
Shining a LAMP on Web 2.0
February 26, 2007
Uptime monitoring firm Pingdom has done a small survey of some of the most popular Web 2.0 sites on the Internet to see what is running under the hood that keeps the web sites going.
The results are a fairly conclusive vote of confidence in the LAMP stack: six out of the seven businesses queried are running Linux and MySQL, five are using Apache, and five are using PHP.
Alfresco's exception to the GPL rule
February 23, 2007
Eagle-eyed readers might have noticed a story earlier this week stating that Alfresco was moving its open source content management software to the GPL. The company was still dotting the Is and crossing the Ts so the story had to disappear for a few days, but now the news is out, along with details of an interesting approach the company is taking to mixing GPL and Apache licensed code.
The company has come up with a FLOSS Exception that prevents developers having to publish their code under the GPL so long as they are using an Open Source Initiative-approved license.
Can someone explain to me how the Microsoft/Novell patent deal doesn’t stink?
February 22, 2007
While we’re on the subject of Microsoft Linux Patent FUD, former Microsoft employee Stephen Walli, has a great post dissecting the three key mistakes he believes Steve Ballmer is making about free and open source software.
The three inaccuracies are:
- Customers care about patents.
- Free and open source developers don't respect intellectual property.
- People think free and open source software is free.
For my mind it cuts to the quick about what really stinks about the Microsoft/Novell deal.
Updated again - Microsoft Linux patent FUDwatch
It’s been a while since I published the original Microsoft Linux Patent FUDwatch and the subsequent update.
Given the recent comments from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and others I thought it was time for an update. I particularly enjoyed Microsoft lawyer Brad Smith's explanation of why patent protection is important even if no one actually needs it.
Linux fails to defend itself against imaginary FUD problem
February 21, 2007
But it's not FUD, honest.
I wouldn’t normally respond to pleas for attention, but Rob Enderle’s latest piece on Linux and FUD cannot escape comment. In it Enderle discusses the danger of Linux being associated with anti-Americanism and problem the open source movement faces in responding to FUD.
That in itself is an interesting topic for debate, but the fact that Enderle’s post is itself pure FUD and is in fact based on an imaginary problem lets him down.
Dude, you’re getting open source
February 20, 2007
The top 10 most popular features currently requested on the Dell Idea Storm community:
1. Pre-installed Linux (36,931 promotions)
2. Pre-installed OpenOffice (19,683)
3. No extra software, just Vista (15,949)
4. Linux laptop (13,043)
5. No operating system preloaded (10,589)
6. No extra software, just Windows and Vista (9,555)
7. Firefox as default browser (9,227)
8. More RAM (5,680)
9. No overseas tech support (5,053)
10. No India call centers (4,398)
Even if you factor in the fact that the site has attracted more than its fair share of Linux and open source supporters, that’s a phenomenal vote in favo(u)r of open source, and above all choice.
Stallman orders a Cuba Libre
February 19, 2007
Just for the headline really, although personally I prefer the Mojito.
Cuba and Venezuela are moving their state computers from Windows to Linux, according to the AP. As the report suggests, the open source movement is a pretty good match for Cuba’s political philosophy.
One man’s code dump is another man’s innovation opportunity
February 16, 2007
It’s a standing joke in the CBR office that IT services is where server vendors go to die (I won’t name names but you can probably think of a number of second tier server vendors that have postponed their demise by becoming services vendors).
It was in this context that the phrase "open source is where bad software goes to die" was uttered in the office this week, suggesting that a desperate attempt to inject some life into a stalled project is a driver for some proprietary firms releasing code as open source.
A new report from The 451 Group suggests that this is indeed one of the reasons why software vendors go open. That needn’t necessarily be a bad thing, however.
Open source systems management is the new black
February 15, 2007
With GroundWork, Zenoss, Hyperic, Centeris, Emu, Symbiot, Nagios and OpenNMS among others, you might have thought that the last thing the industry needs is another open source systems management vendor.
Tell that to Xandros. The Linux vendor has lunched BridgeWays, a new cross-platform systems management project that builds on its Xandros Management Console.
Hyperic manages growth with HQ 3.0
February 14, 2007
Yet more open source CEO insight, this time from Javier Soltero, CEO of open source systems management vendor Hyperic, who spared as a few minutes recently to talk about version 3.0 of HQ and Hyperic’s momentum.
As Soltero noted, Hyperic wasn’t always open source, but making its HQ systems management software available under the General Public License has paid dividends.
Open source TCO and the total innovation opportunity
Recently I have been writing about the total innovation opportunity as a new way of assessing the potential benefits of open source software. “TCO is important, but does it distract from another at least equally important metric? What about the total innovation opportunity (TIO)?” I wrote.
Red Hat joins Microsoft interop initiative
February 13, 2007
While Red Hat has vowed not to pay Microsoft an "innovation tax" via a patent deal with the software giant, it has proven that it is not averse to working on interoperability and has signed up as a member of Microsoft’s Interop Vendor Alliance.
SpikeSource also moves to Ubuntu
February 12, 2007
Following on from Canonical's agreement with Linspire comes the news that the Ubuntu sponsor has teamed up with SpikeSource in a deal that will eventually see SpikeSource integrating Ubuntu into its software stacks.
Marc Fleury has left the building
February 09, 2007
As widely predicted, Marc Fleury, the founder and former CEO of JBoss, has left Red Hat following a break for paternity leave.
Views from the top: open source CEO insight
So far this year CBR has had access to a considerable number of open source vendor chief executives. There’ll be more to come in the year but I thought it would be interesting to gather some of their thoughts together in one to get a view of the state market.
Read on for views about open source business drivers, Microsoft/Novell, Oracle, intellectual property, and the total innovation opportunity...
Linspire's Linux building blocks
February 08, 2007
Linspire has announced a partnership with Canonical through which Linspire will move from Debian to the Debian-based Ubuntu as the platform for its Linspire and Freespire operating systems.
If that sound confusing, it needn't be. The company also also provided a graphical representation of how the Linux kernel, Debian, Ubuntu, Freespire and Linspire fit together.
Yet more open source funding
February 07, 2007
2007 has started as 2006 left off, with more VCs pouring money into open source software vendors. This week Fonality, Greenplum and GroundWork have raised $28.5m between them, following deals announced in January for rPath and PostPath. It all adds up to $62.6m invested in open source vendors so far this year.
It’s too early to compare with 2006, especially since Barracuda Networks’ $40m funding round in January 2006 sways the results considerably, but the momentum is strong building on the back of considerable open source funding growth in 2006.*
Novell’s first cut is the deepest
February 05, 2007
“You don’t have to be a carpenter to know that it’s a lot harder to fix a mistake once the cut has been made. Hence true craftsman know all to well that proper due diligence up front can save a lot of heartache down the road,” writes Novell’s chief marketing officer, John Dragoon.
Maybe the company should have thought of that before it cut its patent deal with Microsoft, even if a huge amount of nonsense has been written about that over the weekend.
Trialing the open source franchise model
February 02, 2007
Any regular readers may remember a fairly recent post about the potential for the franchise model to be applied to open source software as a means of small local providers finding strength in numbers.
It appears that a group of European suppliers are giving it a go, at least on a trial basis.
Open source tax break back on the agenda
A political think tank created by the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton has drafted a piece of sample legislation that would make it possible for open source developers to claim a tax break for charitable donations.
The Center for American Progress first pitched its idea for an open source tax break in 2006 without much success. Now it is back with a piece of sample legislation aimed at making its idea a reality.
More thoughts on Unbreakable MySQL
February 01, 2007
First of all I should point out that Oracle has declined to comment on MySQL CEO Marten Mickos revealing that the database giant has hinted it might offer support for the MySQL database in a repeat of its Unbreakable Linux attack on Red Hat.
You can read what you like into the lack of a denial, but in the meantime there have been some interesting thoughts on the rumo(u)r from the from around the open source blogoshere.
“If Oracle is actually considering this, then they still really really don't get it,” notes Stephen Walli, while Alex Fletcher thinks it is “Oracle attempting to bottle and clone naturally forming disruption while it continues to refine its competitive strategy.”
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