DISQUS

Technology Liberation Front: Why Novell Needs the Linux Community

  • eee_eff · 2 years ago
    In a nutshell, I consider a Free Software company as a thin membrane, with their clients on one side and the developers and Free Software on the other. They mediate between the two wowrlds, and the value they bring to their clients consists of two things: (1) Service - which is their responsiveness to their costomers & (2) their reputation and integrity.

    Well, guess what-they just assinated their own integrity. So all they have left is service, and that means they are at a disadvantage to their competitors.

    They also have to bring value to their employees, who are part of the developer community. And they can't do that while playing into Microsoft's hands.

    they will ither back out of the deal or lose SuSE--either a developer at a time or parhaps their will be an en masse defection, and we will have a new distro: NuSE, anyone?
  • Noel Le · 2 years ago
    The Linux "community-" aren't these firms competitors. I don't see "ostracism" of Novell by the "community" as anything new. It seems like FOSS entities are just showing their inexperience in the software industry.

    I don't see how Microsoft and Novell are "dueling" over anything. Ambiguity and contradition does happen in the industry. Sometimes you read too much into things.
  • Noel Le · 2 years ago
    Sorry, I meant to also address the "community" of developers. Whats going to stop Novell from just hiring developers. And don't you think that developers who find more sense and value in licenses like the BSD wouldn't really care about the GPL, which they often find alienating to the proprietary industry.

    Finally, Tim, what do you see as the optimal collaboration between "IP firms" and FOSS entities.
  • eee_eff · 2 years ago
    Whats going to stop Novell from just hiring developers. And don't you think that developers who find more sense and value in licenses like the BSD wouldn't really care about the GPL, which they often find alienating to the proprietary industry.

    Assumming the only reason people work is for money, what you are missing is the social motivation, and that these developers are to a certain extent, working for the esteem of their peers. (See The Cathedral and the Bazaar for an extended discussion of this) So Novell will be able to hire developers, but will have to pay a premium.