Wednesday November 30, 2005 We're Giving Everything Away
Today's big news from Sun is that we're giving everything in our server-side software portfolio away free of charge - we're confident you'll like it all so much you'll buy our service and support packages, but there's no catch and no risk if you don't. The new Solaris Enterprise System incorporates Sun's complete software stack, and it's all available as a no-cost download. You'll remember we did the same with the Solaris 10 operating system before we open sourced it to make OpenSolaris, and this is the next step in our move into being a Participation Age software and systems company. Charging for binaries is so last millennium!
Inside-Out
My friend and colleague Jim Grisanzio was the person who first alerted me to an idea he eloquently develops in a recent posting about Community Managers. He said back at the start of the year that communities aren't something you message and control from the outside, they are something you join and influence from the inside. He's moving on now to talk of the dynamics of how one moves from an "us & them" mentality to an "it's all us" approach, and further to consider how collaborative communities are the only way one can work in a global, participative market.
One of the things the OpenSolaris community really had going for it from the start was that, pre-opening, there was already a distributed, collaborative community working on the Solaris source. On opening day, we weren't creating a new community outside Sun, or sending a few Sun staff out to join something. We were opening the doors so that anyone with the will and the skill could become part of the (now Open-)Solaris community.
Not every group is like that. As I discuss the future with various groups inside Sun, this is one of my diagnostics for how well-prepared a team's thinking is for going open source. The folk who are worried about "running programs to draw in the community", "crafting messages", "sending our engineers out to the community" and so on are the ones most likely to find the transition to open source hard. Hearing people talk about "the community" as something "out there" is diagnostic of pre-Participation Age thinking that will need to evolve.
Tuesday November 29, 2005 Rumours of my death...
Flattery abounds, it seems - I am flattered by David Berlind's concern for my health and sanity (and have forwarded it to my manager to act on as I head out to the Java User Group in Stockholm for tonight's meeting...). And I completely agree with him about Jim Grisanzio as an excellent commentator. But I have to say that one of the reasons I feel at liberty to leave my blog untouched for 20 days while I go to speak in Japan and Brazil (and, I admit, take it easy over Thanksgiving) is the fact that I've already multiplied the workers at the harvest by the very creation (with many others) of blogs.sun.com and by its uptake by 3,000 or so Sun employees.
Having said that, one of the things I've not quite come to terms with is how to keep up a stream of worthwhile blogging while I am engaged in confidential activity. I find my thought processes consumed by it and my ability to keep hints of it out of my serious writing very hard. Consequently, I tend to stick to del.icio.us postings and personal comment over on Webmink during such periods. I'm back now, though, and I have plenty to say on both open source governance and on open document format standards...
Changing of the Guard
I was going to post yesterday but my Pipex connection at home failed and of course they only offer support the hours they are working, not me. But better late than never, I'd like to wish Claire Giordano well in her move to A9. As engineering manager, Claire was a pivotal figure in the final process of releasing the Solaris source code to the OpenSolaris community, and then as marketing manager she has followed through with the transformation. This Tiresian experience made her ideally suited for her new job and I hope she has great fun and success there.
Monday November 28, 2005 Flattered but not impressed
If imitation is the sincerest part of flattery, then we at Sun feel very flattered by Microsoft's decision to start using non-assert covenants as a way to give developers freedom from fear in their use of standards (even if they don't credit us). Like Andy Updegrove, I've taken some time to consider their document, and I've some comments I hope they'll take on board when they get round to making a covenant that actually applies to Office 12 or to the work they'll offer to Ecma International (neither of which has happened yet1).
In the spirit of contribution, then, here are six observations about their covenant:
- Patent protection is contingent on a conformant implementation. "Conformant" is not defined, meaning there is uncertainty needing legal advice.2
- There is no provision for partial implementation, meaning true community-based development is not covered until complete.
- It may well mean that implementation of just a word processor is impossible - it implies that you have to implement everything (spreadsheets & all) to reach the bar.
- It is specific to the version currently existing, meaning I can be hooked into supporting it now, but when Office 12 or Office 13 comes out & I update to be compatible with the format in that I can get sued. The covenant Sun uses creates ongoing protection.
- It does not grant patents to the ECMA standard as it only applies to Office 11 XML. This means a new covenant will be needed for the ECMA work.
- If the same form of words were used for a contribution to ECMA, then those prototyping the ongoing evolution of the standard as ECMA changed it would lose protection the instant any change was made. It applies only to Microsoft's input, not to ECMA's output. Or maybe they would rather ECMA didn't change anything?3
Together, these six problems seem to be show-stoppers for open source, no matter how positive Brian Jones or even Larry Rosen may feel about it all - as David Berlind says, we only know they won't sue what they unilaterally consider to be "conforming" uses. As it stands, I don't think their covenant gives open source developers sufficient confidence to implement the spec it covers4, let alone the forthcoming specs that it doesn't5. Assuming Microsoft intends, as they say, to open their data formats, we expect to see some further work and clarification to address these issues6.
- Update: I note Brian has commented that the same words will be used for the Office 12 formats.
- It's been pointed out to me that the use of the word "conformant" probably also renders the specification unimplementable under the GPL by placing a restriction on usage that does not appear in the GPL.
- Stephen O'Grady hints that maybe that's the whole point...
- I am advised to point out that I am expressing my opinion and not offering legal advice which, of course, is something you can only get from a qualified and expensive professional.
- One other problem: right now, the only way to even see the specs is to use Microsoft Office as they are packaged only for use with that product. Consequently I would have to agree to the Office EULA to proceed, and the covenant explicitly avoids changing those terms.
- Not to say this isn't a huge step forwards for Microsoft. Congratulations, folks, keep stepping.
Saturday November 26, 2005 Java is SourceForge's Favourite Language
Thanks to JVic for pointing out that the Java language is now the most frequently used programming langauge for open source projects on SourceForge. As of now, it has nosed ahead of C++ by 8 projects (16772 to 16754). Can we stop saying that open source and Java are in some way opposed now please?
Sunday November 06, 2005 Sun Offers $99 Product Free
Just noticed that Java Studio Creator is available at no cost right now - I just grabbed the Mac version to give it a try.
