A new answer to open source vs. the cloud
Some time ago, people wondered (and worried) whether the cloud will kill open source. Today we have an answer, which is: The cloud is open source, most of it anyway. So we observe a peaceful...
View ArticleThree types of community open source
Any project or product that uses open-source software becomes dependent on it. Introducing such a dependency should be thought through in detail, in particular if the software is to be used as a...
View ArticleNow careful with that trademark policy
Community open source projects that become successful are often commercially relevant. Hence, to prevent abuse, the project founder or a supporting foundation acquires a trademark to the name of the...
View ArticleIt is the CEO’s responsibility (and liability)
A CEO (Geschäftsführer) is generally responsible for ensuring that the company entrusted to them is operating at the state of the art. If they are negligent of this and something goes wrong,...
View ArticleHow to make money with open source
It’s simple. You sell a closed complement. You can’t make money with something that is free, so you can’t sustainably make money by selling open-source software. You can make money by selling...
View ArticleHow to make more money with open source
You make money with open source by selling a closed complement to the open-source software. You can make more money when building on open-source software you exclusively own rather than building on...
View ArticleMinIO vs. Weka on Apache-2.0 license violation dispute
MinIO, provider of cloud software, has claimed that Weka, provider of more cloud software, is violating the terms of the Apache-2.0 license of their (MinIO’s) open source code. Both blog statements...
View ArticleA Smart But Under-Reported Open Source Move by Google
Last year, Google announced a new service called Assured Open-Source Software. It is one of the smartest moves in the industry I’ve recently seen, but there has been almost no reporting about it. Open...
View ArticleDoes a license change to an open source component affect old versions?
Sometimes, an open source project decides to change its license. It happens rarely with a community open source project; it happens more often with a commercial open source project when the vendor is...
View ArticleIs open source a social movement?
According to some, open source is a social movement. Fortunately, I may add, that is mostly in the past. While some still emphasize the altruism present in some of open source’s founders, today’s...
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