Is Open Source really that open?
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 12 November 2009, 18:54 IST   |    3 Comments
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Is Open Source really that open?
Bangalore: Many companies are going Open Source to attract more developers and to gain fame for contributing to the community. But are these companies putting everything out on Open Source? Not really, apart from Open Source foundations like Eclipse, Apache Software Foundation, and Mozilla, companies are exposing the least amount of tools and knowledge for Open Source. This limited sharing is called "fauxpen source," according to CNET. Recently, Vishal Sikka, Chief Technological Officer of SAP, called for a more open process for Java development, arguing that Sun too tightly controls Java's development. It's a complaint that has plagued the Java community for years. Google is applauded by many for its Open Source investments but at the same time is blamed by few for its closed Android community. The same types of complaints have risen over Google's management of Chrome and Chrome operating system. Even Red Hat, the ideal Open-Source company, is primarily known for what it distributes, not what it develops. Red Hat, of course, works alongside IBM and other corporate and unaffiliated developers to write the Linux kernel, and scrupulously releases its software under Open-Source licenses. But when it comes to development of its Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution or development of its JBoss middleware or other technologies, Red Hat stays away from Open Source. There are very good reasons that Google, Red Hat, MySQL, and others keep a tight grip on their Open-Source development efforts. They are responsible - fiscally and legally - to their customers, and have to be able to guarantee quality and security. Understandably, they exercise some control to ensure the products they ship protect the integrity of their brands. But such corporate Open Source indicates a real divide between Open Source as a license and Open Source as a wholly transparent way of developing and distributing software. In the future, we might see "fauxpen source" fade away as companies clearly separate their Open-Source efforts from their revenue models. Open Source can provide a platform for monetization, but it isn't the best way to actually generate cash.

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