Google`s open source gamble
Can something you give away turn into a gold mine? That`s the multimillion-dollar question Google is betting on with its push into open source software, says Canada.com.
From a technophile`s point-of-view, open source software has had a much-maligned history; it has been wildly successful at innovating new and alternative software packages, but has failed to deliver any significant return on investment.
Still, that hasn`t stopped technology bellwether Google from spearheading efforts to make it financially successful after a pair of widely-publicised forays into the social networking and mobile handset markets earlier this month.
MS`s open source rhetoric remains inconsistent
In a recent interview, Microsoft`s Bill Hilf talked about the company`s strategy for using and competing with open source software, reports Ars Technica.
Microsoft originally brought in Hilf, a former Linux technical strategist for IBM, to head up its open source projects but is currently Microsoft`s general manager of Windows Server marketing.
Hilf has developed a reputation for espousing controversial opinions about Linux and open source software. In the past, Hilf has claimed "the free software movement is dead" and "Linux doesn`t exist in 2007".
Open source licence granted to SaaS
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) application developers have been given access to a new open source licence to make the facility freely available for development, says One Stop Click.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has issued the licence to developers, who will be able to use it to guarantee that any modifications they make to SaaS will be available to the free software community.
Known as the GNU Affero General Public Licence version three, it is based on the GNU General Public Licence three, which was made available in June.
Share