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MasterNetra
October 2nd, 2009, 04:06 AM
A premature by this guy or no? Read the article and post your thoughts!
Article: FOSS: War is over (if you want it) (http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2009/10/01/foss-war-is-over-if-you-want-it/)

--Article was brought to my attention by Linuxtoday.com

SunnyRabbiera
October 2nd, 2009, 04:13 AM
It wont be fully over, but in the near future we might see more of a BSD style approach from both ends

dragos240
October 2nd, 2009, 04:13 AM
It's never over for the GNU foundation ;).

Mateo
October 2nd, 2009, 07:39 AM
I predict godwin's law by page 5

Sean Moran
October 2nd, 2009, 08:00 AM
Indubitably.

---o0o---
At 07:04am in Marrakech there are clear sunny skies today and it's 18 degrees celcius. (centigrade/celsius?)

Khakilang
October 2nd, 2009, 08:21 AM
Never cos there is every bloodsuckers born everyday.

Sean Moran
October 2nd, 2009, 08:27 AM
Never cos there is every bloodsuckers born everyday.
Was that not why we have those incecticide sprays to stop the mosquitoes?
<I forget the name of it but citronella is just as good)

JillSwift
October 2nd, 2009, 08:34 AM
There was a war?

Why do I never get these memos?

Lemmy's Wart
October 2nd, 2009, 08:39 AM
I am sure many of the Microsoft fraternity would disagree with the blog in question. ;-)

Sean Moran
October 2nd, 2009, 08:58 AM
I am sure many of the Microsoft fraternity would disagree with the blog in question. ;-)
I guess they must have more important things to do on a Friday in October, isn't it?
:guitar:
<some might say that this is not far off the Equinox.>

MasterNetra
October 2nd, 2009, 01:16 PM
I am sure many of the Microsoft fraternity would disagree with the blog in question. ;-)

Microsoft' Fraternity is too busy idolizing M$ and looking at porn to know what is going on. :lolflag:

RiceMonster
October 2nd, 2009, 01:19 PM
There was a war?

Why do I never get these memos?

this

forrestcupp
October 2nd, 2009, 02:40 PM
That's about as likely as saying Hitler's Nazis won WWII. ;)

eragon100
October 2nd, 2009, 04:23 PM
That's about as likely as saying Hitler's Nazis won WWII. ;)

Someone predicted Godwin's law at page five... it already happened on page 2 :D

Pogeymanz
October 2nd, 2009, 04:37 PM
Someone predicted Godwin's law at page five... it already happened on page 2 :D

I think that was the point of the wink.

Hyporeal
October 2nd, 2009, 05:08 PM
Interesting read, despite the excessive use of rhetoric. It seems that the "war" mentioned in the title is purely economic. The fact that FOSS has a place in the economy is seen by some as a final victory. But ultimately the economy only cares about its bottom line; if a proprietary model can generate higher revenues then it will be used. Far more interesting are the moral issues, which have the potential to integrate FOSS into the culture rather than simply use it as a tool for profit.

The article mentions current governments of the US and Europe promoting the FOSS model as a democratic institution. While this is encouraging, it doesn't mean that most citizens are going to realize the benefits of free software. This is where the real struggle (or "war" if you prefer military terms) is taking place. Coming from a country obsessed with parceling up public resources and selling them to private interests, I see this as a significant challenge.

lykwydchykyn
October 2nd, 2009, 05:21 PM
"Open Source" -- that is, software whose source code is viewable or obtainable under some kind of license -- has certainly established a place for itself in the tech industry and in the mindshare of IT departments all over the world.

"Free Software" -- that is, software that can be used, modified, and redistributed without restriction -- hasn't quite gone as far, what with patents still hanging around and some parts of the industry trying to find ways to keep "open source" code restricted to use with their products/services.

If you define the "war" as an attempt to establish relevancy and validity, then I'd say for "open source" it's indeed over.

koenn
October 2nd, 2009, 06:14 PM
"Open Source" -- that is, software whose source code is viewable or obtainable under some kind of license -- ....
Maybe this is your own personal definition of 'open source', but the Open Source Initiative, the guys who practically invented the term, use a definition that's pretty close to the Free Software definition :



Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code.

The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:

1. Free Redistribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software ...

2. Source Code
The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. ...

3. Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.

4. ..

...

10. ...

http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

gnomeuser
October 2nd, 2009, 06:15 PM
Even Microsoft is creating open licenses, releasing open code, specifications and standards. They donate to major open source projects and have now even started a foundation whose aim it is to bridge the gap between open source and business.

Yeah.. openness has pretty much won out, we are not and probably will not be in a situation where all code will be open but the majority of tasks can be done with open alternatives. Companies now have an understanding for why open standards are important.

I think the tide has turned.

lykwydchykyn
October 2nd, 2009, 07:07 PM
Maybe this is your own personal definition of 'open source', but the Open Source Initiative, the guys who practically invented the term, use a definition that's pretty close to the Free Software definition :


http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php

That's fair enough. Do you think I'm entirely wrong, then?

starcannon
October 2nd, 2009, 07:14 PM
I wish it were over; I fear it is only just beginning. As commercial software developers like MS and Apple continue to find ways to leverage open source to their benefit, I fear their darker tendencies will re-emerge, and with their foot in the door, attempt crimes against code.

We'll see, but I remain in a healthy paranoid/skeptical opinion on this.

I hope he's right, I'd really like to put daisies in all the guns.

TheBuzzSaw
October 2nd, 2009, 07:19 PM
There was a war?

Why do I never get these memos?

My sentiments exactly.

Why must everyone think that open source must contradict the proprietary world? I actually believe there is a time and place for proprietary technology (in addition to the really stupid places it is used today).

koenn
October 2nd, 2009, 07:24 PM
That's fair enough. Do you think I'm entirely wrong, then?
your distinction between Open Source and Free Software disappears, so 'm not quite sure what your point was then.

I think what's happening is some sort of "If you can't beat them, join them" strategy on the part of the proprietary software people/firms.

This takes on many forms : IBM as a consultancy firm, Oracle, Google, and others with proprietary software on open source infrastructure, Microsoft's attempts to build communities, their code contributions, and their riding the waves (or muddying the waters) with "shared source", ... etc.

OSI's re-labeling of Free Software to Open Source Software, certainly played a role in that evolution.

As for the movement that opposes vendor lock-in strategies, DRM, software patents, .... , their struggle ain't over.

Lemmy's Wart
October 2nd, 2009, 07:29 PM
Even Microsoft is creating open licenses, releasing open code, specifications and standards. They donate to major open source projects and have now even started a foundation whose aim it is to bridge the gap between open source and business.

Yeah.. openness has pretty much won out, we are not and probably will not be in a situation where all code will be open but the majority of tasks can be done with open alternatives. Companies now have an understanding for why open standards are important.

I think the tide has turned.

Don't take this the wrong way but you sound like Miguel de Icaza. But then again I have been around quite some time so I latch onto quotes and soundbytes the content of which I have heard before.

I am naturally cynical but I truly would like to be proven wrong.

lykwydchykyn
October 2nd, 2009, 07:29 PM
As for the movement that opposes vendor lock-in strategies, DRM, software patents, .... , their struggle ain't over.

I suppose that's what I was trying to express.

tcoffeep
October 2nd, 2009, 07:38 PM
It's never over for the GNU foundation ;).

:( unfortunately.

forrestcupp
October 2nd, 2009, 07:50 PM
Someone predicted Godwin's law at page five... it already happened on page 2 :D

I couldn't let Mateo down now, could I? :)