Follow the mainstream technology media bandwagon, and you'll see the words Open Source, and Linux make an appearance at regular intervals. Thanks to the recent lawsuit frenzy, the terms have been pushed into the limelight. But do they know what they are talking about?
The words have been diluted by the media. Open can mean so many things. So can Free. Not all open source software is free, and proprietary companies release and use open source software all the time. And we aren't talking about Linux yet. Just because a wireless card has Linux drivers, its manufacturer isn't Linux friendly. And Microsoft doesn't hate us any more. Welcome to 2010.
Reminds me of the good ol' days when our articles had disclaimers shouting "shareware is not free software", "hackers are good people", and "not all geeks like Star Trek" (ok that last one is a blatant lie).
Patents aren't going away any time soon
It's important to see open source as a business methodology. No more, no less. It's a way of life for software companies that want to work with others. The "others" could include other companies, and individuals independent of either. Open source software build communities around themselves, and are guarded by licenses.
This mix doesn't go down well with everyone. Licenses and patents can (and do) exist with each other. Not all of us have the luxury to dream of a future without software patents any time soon. In fact, Eben Moglen, chairman of the Software Freedom Law Centre, the legal voice of free software, wants us to exploit the flaws in the patent system, before it exploits us. Sane advice from a practical man.
It's business as usual
At the same time, it's imperative to realise that business ethos and community values would never go down well together. It's natural to expect developers to get sentimental about patent lawsuits. The lawsuits don't do them any good. Neither does getting sentimental about them.
As the recent Google-Oracle lawsuit around the open source smartphone OS Android suggests, just because a software is open source, doesn't mean the community needs to defend it. Or take the lawsuit personally, and get offended.
The open source guarantee
In fact, realise the opposite. What open source actually is, is a guarantee. It ensures that one software business never profits from the destruction of an open source software, lawsuit or no lawsuit. Crony capitalism is a myth; Oracle wouldn't take on Google, just because Steve Jobs was the official wedding photographer at his buddy Larry Ellison's wedding. It's all in the percentages.
The sooner you realize this, the better. Now get back to the next release candidate. Your compiler beckons.
