OpenSolaris
I was congratulated on getting quoted in the Guardian today, Giving away software makes good sense for Sun. Given that I was unaware of this I was thrilled.... and then I read it. The article quoted a previous blog entry but didn't provide that context, so it looks like I'm trying to counterpoint or argue with Jonathan. Eek. I just want to clarify the point that I, myself, am part of the problem; note that I say "we" instead of ...
Thank you /., the Software Freedom Law Center has released a A Legal Issues Primer for Open Source and Free Software Projects. Sections include: Common Copyright Questions (Including breakdown of various styles of licenses) Common Organizational Issues (Of particular interest to OpenSolaris right now) Patent Defenses for FOSS Developers Common Trademark Issues (Also of great interest to OpenSolaris) The paper is an excellent ...
On Monday OGB Chairman Rich Teer posted Sun's answer (crafted by Mr Bill Franklin with the assistance of Mr. Simon Phipps) to the OGB's request for clarification regarding the highly controversial decision to name Project Indiana "OpenSolaris". The issue is highly mixed, on one hand you have Sun Microsystems looking for a way to monetize OpenSolaris, on the other hand they are redefining the term "OpenSolaris", around which everything is ...
I've been asked to provide some insight in this blog regarding the activities of the OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB), and so I'm delivering. I debate is raging on the OGB-Discuss list regarding the nature of our community, its future, and the applicability of our current Constitution. From the outside it might seem a bit unruly, and to some extent it is, but let me help sum up the nature of this debate and its importance. As I've ...
With my OGB seat came a re-newed effort on my part to really look long and hard at where we're at (OpenSolaris) and where we need to go. There are a lot of problems that need fixing, most of them frankly are social, not technical. A common sentiment has been that OpenSolaris is "open, but not really open". I've expressed this view myself... but what does it mean? OpenSolaris, by which I actually mean Nevada, is in fact "Open ...
Last night Dr. James Hughes, Solaris CTO, spoke about Indiana. The meeting was less than elegant. Some interesting bits of information come about toward the end, especially concerning contribution to ON, to which his method seem to be to train external contributors over time to Sun's development method. I also asked a terse open ended question, given that he's a CTO, "What is the future of Solaris?". Judge for yourself:
On Monday I took "office" as a member of the OpenSolaris (Community) Governing Board, filling the vacancy of Mr James Carlson. I'm proud to be given this position, which I shall fill for the remainder of the current term which ends Apr 1, 2008. It is a great honor to serve the community in this unique and privilege way. While many of you have found OpenSolaris politics off-putting, discouraging, or simply pointless, I assure you that ...
Holy crap this is hilarious... I found this in James McPherson's blog, who points to an online version: Read it now. Ya, its Microsoft, but its still really funny. Honestly, I wish there was a book like this for explaining what programmers and sysadmins do... maybe LOPSA should commission something like that.
I thought I'd devote a little time to hashing out some thoughts regarding what I call "the great contradiction", or, more generically put, OpenSolaris independence, in particular, from Sun. The problem is that of co-dependence, real or perceived depending on your point of view. We want to say that OpenSolaris is independent and not "controlled" by Sun. And yet, the vast bulk (we're talking like 99.999%) of all contribution is from within ...
By now you've probly heard that Sun is giving away US$1,000,000 for open source contributions, being called a contest or awards program. Of that stash, $175,000 is ear marked for OpenSolaris. But whats the skinney? Dig OpenSolaris, want to contribute, and maybe a shot at some of that cash to boot? Check out this video: You can find more details on the Genunix Wiki "OpenSolaris Community Innovation Awards" page. There are plenty ...