[Gllug] Linuxemporium - Pink Tie

[Alain Williams]

On Thu, Nov 21, 2002 at 03:59:31PM +0000, Jason Clifford wrote:

> Red Hat do indeed hold that all software released as part of "Red Hat 
> Linux" is under an open source license however there are other parts of 
> their business where they have significantly relaxed that policy.

Internal s/ware (eg: server for 'up2date' & customer, etc, databases) they
probably don't see as needing to be open source. But they should ask
themselves the open source question: if we were to release (say) our customer
relations management database[**] (code, not names/addresses) would we gain ?
The answer is probably 'yes' - since they would end up with a better CRM.

> Personally I think that the shift in senior management focus at Red Hat is 
> indicative of a move towards a less Free Red Hat over the coming couple of 
> years. That is a natural result of their being a listed company now - 
> theyy are obliged in law to maximise share holder value.

But the shareholders bought the shares *knowing* that all the s/ware
that it distributed was open source - so I don't think that that applies.

In some ways Linux distributors are like banks. Banks have a *huge* turnover,
but most of it is simply taking in people's pay cheques and paying out
to their mortgage, holidays, ... With a bank 'turnover' is a misleading thing.
Their true turnover is the fees, etc, that they charge[%%] for moving other people's
money about. They are conduits for other people's money.

RedHat, et al, are conduits for other people's software. Very little of
which they have contributed to at all, although Red Hat has done quite a bit here.
It is this small bit that they have written that people are arguing about,
RedHat know that if they made that non Open Source that they would loose
a lot of developer support - internal as well as external; ie they would
loose staff as well as customers.


[**] I assume that they do indeed have such a thing.

[%%] OK, OK - I know that it is too high, but that is another discussion.

-- 
Alain Williams

#include <std_disclaimer.h>

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