Open Source Weblog: July 2008 Archives

The 10 Best Open Source Rules Engines
July 29, 2008

News earlier this week that IBM is buying French business rules player Ilog for $340m has once again shone a spotlight on this relative backwater of enterprise technology.

While business process management systems have managed to move into the mainstream, some of the business rules companies have remained in something of a niche. But what are the options in open source business rules management systems, and why would you want one?

Announced on Monday, IBM said it hopes the acquisition of French firm Ilog will improve its offering in the application lifecycle management market, as well as developing IBM's BPM and SOA offerings.

Gentilly, France-based Ilog targets several markets: business rules management and optimisation, visualisation and supply chain management. It is probably best known for its business rules software, which enables companies to streamline their business processes, and reduce companies' reliance on hard-coded application logic. It is said to be able to put some power to change business processes in the hands of business users, too.

IBM does have business process capabilities, namely within WebSphere Process Server, but it has tended to partner with rules companies -- including Ilog -- for clients with anything other than straight-forward rules requirements. Rivals to Ilog in the business rules space include Pegasystems, Fair Isaac, Haley, Lombardi Software, CA, Oracle and more.

But there are a number of open source offerings in the business rules space, too, especially Java-based rules engines. So what are the Ten Best Open Source Rules Engines*? [click continue reading for more]

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 05:23 PM | Comments (1)

Open source Amazon mashup integration, with a bit of cloud computing for good measure
July 24, 2008

A while back I posted a cheeky blog asking the question, “Which open source data integration firm will announce on Monday that its technology has been optimized to run on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)?”

I had promised to reveal the answer the following Monday, but events conspired against me. The company in question postponed their announcement, then my magazine moved offices, et cetera, et cetera .. [click continue reading for more on this announcement]

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 05:30 PM | Comments (0)

Is Windows for cheapskates, and do Macs rule the US?
July 17, 2008

Honestly, you’d think Apple has won the battle for the desktop, the way some news outlets have reported the most recent market share figures.

“The Mac owns the US. Windows owns the world…” read Matt Asay’s headline over at News.com. The Mac owns the US? With market share in the US of 8.5%, behind Dell (31.9% market share) and HP (25.3%), that headline is misleading at best... [click continue reading for more on this story]…

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 05:30 PM | Comments (0)

Barracuda suit 'not about open source': Trend Micro

Posted by CBR’s Steve Evans

The patent spat between Trend Micro and Barracuda Networks is not about open source, Trend Micro CTO Raimund Genes told CBR.

The open source community has united behind Barracuda and some have called for a boycott of Trend’s products. Barracuda has announced that if it wins the case, all net proceeds will be donated to the open source community. Dean Drako, president and CEO of Barracuda Networks, said: “Innovation will lead to a safer Internet, litigation will not.” [click continue reading for more]...

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

VMware makes Linux fan new CEO
July 11, 2008

Virtualisation specialist VMware's CEO and co-founder Diane Greene was ousted by the firm's board this week. The word is that VMware chairman (and EMC CEO) Joe Tucci didn't exactly see eye to eye with Greene.

It's rumoured that Tucci believed the firm needed someone with experience of taking firms 'to the next level' and that the founder should step aside and take a different role at the company she co-founded -- when she refused, it's reported, he had her sacked. But guess who he's replaced her with... [click continue reading for more]...

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 12:24 PM | Comments (2)

Reasons to choose Linux # 113
July 07, 2008

Some interesting comments stem from Glacier Computer, a designer of rugged industrial PC-compatible devices, which has just announced shipment of the Everest industrial computer with two options for the Linux operating system.

OK, so the systems are targeted at the warehouse, freight, distribution, and field service markets. But those are pretty harsh environments for any device and indeed operating system to cope with…

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Posted by Jason Stamper on 03:57 PM | Comments (1)