Trolltech goes public.

[YourSurrogateGod]

FYI, they're the makers of KDE.

http://slashdot.org/articles/06/05/24/1745209.shtml

[cgjones]

Actually, they are the makers of QT, the library used in KDE.

[YourSurrogateGod]

Actually, they are the makers of QT, the library used in KDE.
Ohh, ok.

[ComplexNumber]

hehe now i'm really glad i'm using gnome and gtk :D. kongrats to those using kubuntu and kde that their toolkit is now in the hands of power hungry and profit seeking money men.

[RAV TUX]

Thank goodness I have embraced Gnome also. KDE reminds me too much of MAC and Disneyworld to be taken seriously, NOT to offend KDE users it is very sexy but a bit too pop culture for me. I can see why it is popular

I prefer the refined professional look of Gnome but that is just my personal preference.














.

[ComplexNumber]

i think this is potentially very bad news for kde (and possibly kubuntu). floated companies have 1 and only concern - keeping their shareholders happy. short term profit is the name of the game.

[Jucato]

It may or may not be bad news for KDE, as the Qt used in KDE is GPL (free). And Trolltech has other sources of income as well. Besides, if Qt will stop making/supporting a free Qt for any reason whatsoever, the agreement states that the Qt will have to be licensed under BSD. I'm not sure about the specific details, though.

[ComplexNumber]

the agreement states that the Qt will have to be licensed under BSD. i think this means that GPL code can't be used within BSD programs

[YourSurrogateGod]

hehe now i'm really glad i'm using gnome and gtk :D. kongrats to those using kubuntu and kde that their toolkit is now in the hands of power hungry and profit seeking money men.
Actually, this is a good thing. It means investment will flow into the development of KDE. The one reason why Microsoft is such a major success (the business model that is) is because it's treated as a business.

[Lovechild]

I, for one, wish Trolltech good luck in their efforts to go public.

If QT is released under the current BSD license it is perfectly compatible with the GPL, the only BSD license that isn't compatible is the old BSD license with the advertisement clause. No need to worry.

[Jucato]

i think this means that GPL code can't be used within BSD programs

Not really sure about the specifics. I'm not a licensing freak/guru.

But at least it remains within the Free/Open Source world (so to speak, if you consider BSD as such). That's much better than having it closed source altogether. Which also means that it will be probably possible to fork/port.

But again, I may be wrong. :D

[ComplexNumber]

Actually, this is a good thing. It means investment will flow into the development of KDE. The one reason why Microsoft is such a major success (the business model that is) is because it's treated as a business. we'll see. but just remember that short term profit and keeping the shareholders happy at all costs is all that matters. that oft-described nice community feeling amongst kde developers and the relationship between qt and kde may become strained at times.

[adamkane]

You would think they would issue a press release, so that we could get an idea about their intentions.

[lexxonnet]

I'm glad, as long as they keep Qt under any sort of GPL, I'm happy.
I still think KDE isn't as polished as Gnome, but it has all the killer apps. It also just works better IMO.

I prefer the look of gnome with the apps and functionality of KDE :)

[ShanghaiTeej]

Who knows what this means, there is no real room to speculate the evilness of going public. Trolltech has done a lot for the opensource community and their contract with the KDE project is pretty astute. Plus, this has nothing to do with KDE, only the toolkit involved. I'd like to see how KDE developers are reacting to this, if at all.

[SeanTater]

I predict this will make for fusses and a few people running /bin/flame. nothing else..

[Jucato]

all you need is to look at /. for that. :D

The KDE devs are pretty quiet. I'm subscribed to the KDE devs' blogs, and haven't heard a thing. :D

[YourSurrogateGod]

we'll see. but just remember that short term profit and keeping the shareholders happy at all costs is all that matters. that oft-described nice community feeling amongst kde developers and the relationship between qt and kde may become strained at times.
So what? That will create change (for better or worse.)

[njf]

I can see Aaron Seigo (stilborne) and Jonathan Riddel (JRiddel) comments in Slashdot.

[Jucato]

Well, not really full blown comments, but they will do. I guess KDE devs are not really bothered/affected by the news, meaning KDE "might" not really be affected that much.

I find it amusing that Jonathan Riddel just jumped in to correct a mistake in the article, and didn't say anything else. :D

[helpme]

I, for one, wish Trolltech good luck in their efforts to go public.

If QT is released under the current BSD license it is perfectly compatible with the GPL, the only BSD license that isn't compatible is the old BSD license with the advertisement clause. No need to worry.
What he said.

[ShanghaiTeej]

Wait a tic, aren't novell, Redhat and other Gnome backers public anyway. They contribute some key software. What does it really matter?

[helpme]

Wait a tic, aren't novell, Redhat and other Gnome backers public anyway. They contribute some key software. What does it really matter?
It doesn't really, other than allowing some people to spread some FUD against Qt and KDE.

[ShanghaiTeej]

I actually like FUD, keeps me entertained.

[ComplexNumber]

here's some updated views on this which seems to echo largely what i've been wondering.

on the one hand,.....

If Trolltech’s IPO doesn’t perform well I’m afaid they’re resort will be to stick with QTopia because it’s bringing in the cash and to drop funding for KDE projects, this is what happens in any business but when you’re company is at the whim of investors, profit is king. If KDE loses that support, the community will lose much of its push in terms of innovations and become (even more) bloated and disorganized which is a problem now but without it’s mother I can see it becoming a free for all mess.


on the other,.....

Trolltech could become huge and an entity in the Linux world could finally have the clout and funds to back a Linux desktop solution
read the full article here (http://www.enfact.com/blog/).






i still can't see this move being good for KDE at all. quite the opposite whatever happens to trolltechs fortunes. i can either see KDE going down or linux going up.

[ThirdWorld]

FYI, they're the makers of KDE.

http://slashdot.org/articles/06/05/24/1745209.shtml


these are very good news endeed, they will make money and offer products with better quality. hopefully, KDE icons and enviroment will not look like a cheap chinese plastic toy anymore...

[mostwanted]

these are very good news endeed, they will make money and offer products with better quality. hopefully, KDE icons and enviroment will not look like a cheap chinese plastic toy anymore...

They're not the makers of KDE, they're the makers of Qt.

[ShanghaiTeej]

Okay, Trolltech has only hired a few KDE developers and is not the only source of funding for KDE. Even if Trolltech went belly up, they would be in the same boat as Gnome in terms of code. Granted, large companies are putting more stock in Gnome, but I don't think KDE will die out, not with the dedicated developers and popularity of the DE. KDE is strong and will remain strong.

Here is something I found on Wikipedia:

Trolltech is mainly owned by its own employees (51.84%) and the Trolltech Foundation (4.5%). Other investors include Index Ventures (24.82%), Teknoinvest (9.70%), Northzone Ventures (4.83%) and Orkla ASA (3.79%).

Although I'm not entirely sure how this changes once one goes public....