Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management
    • PC Hardware
    • Servers

    Is Open Source Dying?

    By
    Michael Hickins
    -
    June 21, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      On the face of it, open-source software has been gaining ground of late. The much-anticipated draft of GNU GPLv3 (GNU General Public License Version 3) has been finally published, giving the open-source community an opportunity to finally get out of its own way.

      State and local governments have latched onto the idea that having their documents hostage to a single vendor, no matter how well-intentioned, might not be such a good idea. Dell recently jumped on the Linux bandwagon and is offering Ubuntu on its PCs. And Microsofts attempt to have its partly-proprietary OOXML (Office Open XML) format rubber-stamped by a friendly standards body hasnt gone as smoothly as expected.

      /zimages/7/178875.jpg

      But behind the scenes, things are not quite as rosy. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which lived up to its left-leaning credentials (didnt Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer famously upbraid open-source proponents for being Communists?) broke important ground by mandating that state agencies switch to open-source platforms. Theres just one problem: They cant seem to manage the transition. Sources close to the situation tell me that former state CIO Peter Quinns resignation happened at least in part because of delaying tactics by vendors who publicly support open source but do their best to scuttle it behind the scenes.

      /zimages/7/28571.gifClick here to read more about why Linux wont switch to GPLv3.

      And why should that surprise anyone? A company like IBM has to generate $190 million worth of incremental revenues every year, and royalties are a big part of that number. Royalties like the ones it earns from… you guessed it, Microsoft. Suffice to say that the vendor community will support open source only so long as it doesnt interfere with their revenue models.

      Beyond Massachusetts, the open-source bills introduced in Minnesota, Texas and the like are stagnant or dead. One of the hiccups is that open-source software isnt very good at reading documents written using proprietary software. The state of California is currently testing a new plug-in; if that fails to impress, open source may be dead in California, too.

      Meanwhile, Microsoft has begun to wrap open-source distributions in its suffocating arms, offering peaceful coexistence in our time—but on its terms and only to selected distros.

      And most people now expect Microsoft to get its stamp of approval for OOXML, opening its doors to even the most open-source-friendly states.

      The Free Software Foundation and Linux continue to engage in a pissing match over some of the terms of GPLv3, making the open-source community seem, once again, like splinter groups of some radical political organization more interested in winning arcane theological disputes than actually taking power.

      Meanwhile, while Dell offers Ubuntu on personal computers, it still refuses to sell pre-installed Linux on PCs for business use.

      Does that mean open source is dying? Of course not. But the open-source community needs to get over its overweening sense of superiority and messianic inevitability; the alternative is just good enough that if it doesnt get its act together, open source may find itself the subject of retrospectives like “Remember Unix?”

      /zimages/7/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest open-source news, reviews and analysis.

      Avatar
      Michael Hickins

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×