Tuesday December 28, 2004 Are Sys-Con Just Trolls?
I just read a post by Sys-Con (which I'll not point to as their ad-laden style is offensive) who obviously have a serious problem because they are reporting as new news excellent comments my friend Bruno Souza made back in November in a JavaLobby thread responding to Onno Kluyt's question "what could you do with an open source Java that you can't do now". Mid-November news making the press in late December? Looks like it's time Sys-Con shut up shop and left news to the bloggers they copy.
Having said all that, I do agree with Bruno. The process that Apache, Sun and the JCP have been conducting for the last few years removing the unintentional obstacles to open source re-implementations of Java specifications needs finessing and finishing. It's not about Sun releasing an open source JRE (Bruno and Javali will do that) - it's about making sure others can do so more easily, including Sun if they chose to.
Posted by webmink
( Dec 28 2004, 05:02:02 AM PST )
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Wednesday December 22, 2004 Personal Views
Just in case SunMink is the only blog of mine you read, you may be interested to leap over to Webmink where I've recently written about using the WTO to do the dirty work against F/OSS, the new developments in EU software patents, the new Social Computing Lab at RIT and more. Dave Edmondson has actually built me a handy aggregated syndication feed which you could subscribe to if you wanted to see everything I write. Posted by webmink
( Dec 22 2004, 04:45:26 AM PST )
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Heros of OpenOffice for Mac
Huge kudos to Patrick Luby and Ed Peterlin for their work getting NeoOffice/J 1.1 beta ready for us all for Christmas. As you'll recall, this is the version of OpenOffice.org front-ended with the Java platform to make Mac integration easier and the guys have done splendid work adding extra stuff to make NeoOffice/J the perfect Mac productivity suite. The fact it's a Java program yet looks perfect on the Mac also heaps kudos on the Java platform!
The new NeoOffice/J is based on OO.o 1.1.3 and adds:
- Aqua menus
- Mouse wheel support (for those of us who disagree with Steve)
- Text drag-and-drop support
- Smaller PDF files
- Support for 40 languages
This amazing work underscores the reason why Sun is working with open source. Sun can't afford to staff a Mac port of OO.o itself right now but a motivated community can. These guys are able to go above and beyond and produce stunning work that significantly challenges the overpriced incumbent. The uncharitable Dan Gillmor may gripe but I have every confidence that the community around OpenOffice.org will grow (especially with the more modular v2.0 design) and that the work Patrick, Ed and others do will ensure that the Mac version is far from "missing in action".
Posted by webmink
( Dec 22 2004, 01:22:51 AM PST )
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Tuesday December 21, 2004 Discussion Group
Haven't said it here before, but I have a discussion group over on Yahoo Groups where SunMink readers would be welcome to drop by to discuss postings. Posted by webmink
( Dec 21 2004, 12:40:51 AM PST )
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The Canyons and The Plains
Dare's analysis of Scoble's open letter to Gates about Windows Media makes for interesting reading, especially the comment:
One reaction which is obvious in hindsight is the assumption in this post that Microsoft shouldn't abide the fact that Apple is dominating a market it isn't directly engaged in. This is such a natural way of thinking of for Microsoft people ("we should be number 1 in every software/hardware/technology related market") that it is often surprising for non-Microserfs when they first encounter the mentality.
I sometimes speak of "canyon-dwellers" and "plains-dwellers" as a model for understanding the radically different worlds Sun and Microsoft inhabit. Canyon-dwellers have limited space to live in - there's only so much room in the canyon, and they assume it's all theirs so try to assimilate, eat or annihilate anything or anyone moving in. In a "canyon market", you can only survive by dominance and control. Canyon-dwellers "win".
Plains-dwellers see the endless level horizons and learn to keep a (possibly uneasy) peace with the others on the plains - typically more herds grazing doesn't harm anyone and can help. Plains-dwellers only fear the raiding parties of canyon-dwellers (and the occasional sociopath). In a "plains market" you survive by synergy and mutual respect. Plains-dwellers "grow".
The worlds are so different that it puts the relationship between Sun and Microsoft into perspective for me. It's not a meeting of minds so much as a decision to (tensely) respect differences. Even this limited truce will have huge benefits for customers, through interoperability and through Sun's ability to influence the web services standards process for good (respecting openness and avoiding patents, for example). But ultimately the fears of 'sell-out' expressed in the radical wing of the open source movement are misplaced; canyon-dwellers and plains-dwellers are ultimately too different to blend.
Posted by webmink
( Dec 21 2004, 12:24:24 AM PST )
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Thursday December 16, 2004 IP Rights - Property or Mineral?
Recently we saw a landmark in the history of open source software, although I'm sure the purists will disagree (but then they always do, that's their job).
The landmark? Sun announced details of the availability of Solaris 10. It's loaded with technologies that make Unix people drool - DTrace, which puts advanced system monitoring into the hands of anyone who can write shell scripts - Containers, which allows you to run multiple system images without having to buy a mainframe (run a whole ISP from a single system) - ZFS, a whole new take on file systems - Janus, letting you run unchanged Linux binaries. Even I can tell these are a leap forward, and the thread on Slashdot that discusses the news was for once full of people crying "more, more" instead of "off with his head".
That's a return to roots for Solaris. Being the thought-leader in Unix is what made Solaris a must-have in every data centre and it's high time the high-school epithets were chased away and the innovation allowed in. But even more radical is the return to community. The hard-core sceptics can't believe it's happening but it really is - Solaris will truly have an open source sister (yes, AC trolls, under an OSI-approved license). My friend Jim Grisanzio is facing a torrent of applications to join the early access programme for OpenSolaris, so those claiming it won't garner a community are also in for a surprise.
How can Sun do this? Well, my former colleague Rob Gingell talks of the difference between the innovator and the patent troll. For the patent troll, intellectual property is like the One Ring - something precious to be guarded at all costs. It's as if, given property rights, I build a house on the site and allow people to rent it from me. I make money through control and exclusivity. For the innovator, intellectual property rights are like the mineral rights to the same plot of land. The innovator excavates, mines, explores, discovers - and it's vital that the minerals are shipped out continuously otherwise they get in the way of fresh innovation.
That 'innovator' role is what made Sun the Unix thought-leader. Solaris 10 is the back-to-the-future move that gets the mineral conveyor rolling again, and OpenSolaris is the way the mines are kept clear to allow new discoveries.
Posted by webmink
( Dec 16 2004, 06:50:49 PM PST )
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