Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Unethical Business of Semi 'Open Source' (Proprietary Disguised as Open)

Summary: Examples of some bits of software that are not really FOSS but sure are (mis)using the "Open Source" brand

I RECENTLY had the horrible experience of spending weeks of my life wrestling with proprietary software that masquerades as "open" (for marketing). I needed to reverse-engineer some bits. A simple upgrade script, for example, is sold for just over $10,000. Without naming the company at hand, I only wish to say that fake 'open source' companies can be worse than proprietary because they use false marketing to seduce people and then act like predators. Over the past few weeks we have accumulated the articles below, highlighting what we believe to be fake 'open source' software and traps to watch out for. If we misclassified some of the examples below, then it simply means that the companies have done a terrible marketing job or are simply refusing to talk about freedom.



Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Best Free Shopping Carts
    The shopping cart software allows online shopping customers to accumulate a list of items for purchase, described metaphorically as “placing items in the shopping cart” or “add to cart”. Upon checkout, the software typically calculates a total for the order, including shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) charges and the associated taxes, as applicable.


  2. A New Philosophy for opentaps
    Make opentaps Benefit the Maximum Number of People


  3. The Role of Open Source in Orchestration
    The most challenging part of managing a complex IT infrastructure is not in the silos but the boundaries between those silos. Tools, processes, and even people have to be particularly flexible at the points where workflows intersect. And once these intersection points are codified (through tooling infrastructure, specific procedures, or training), they are exceedingly difficult to change.


  4. How enterprises drive innovation through open source technologies
    Conference to illustrate how businesses in the region can transform their IT infrastructures and drive strategic impact for their business through deployment of open source technologies.


  5. Goldman Sachs, with 10,000 tech workers, embraces open systems
    A surprising thing about Goldman Sachs, one of the globe's most influential investment banks, may be the sheer size of its technology organization. It makes up a major part of its workforce.


  6. OpenCRX: An open source Salesforce alternative
    Which CRM tool is best for your business? While Salesforce has a smooth, attractive interface and is easier to use in almost every aspect, openCRX offers features Salesforce lacks, such as invoicing capabilities, CalDAV support, integration with any email client, and support for LibreOffice, and arranges its key functionality into a more logical tab hierarchy. Because it's Java-based, openCRX can run on any Linux, Windows, or Mac OS server in your data center. And because it's open source software, you can modify the application to customize it for your needs. Though Salesforce has a lot going in its favor, openCRX is worth evaluating for its unique strengths.


  7. What to consider when transitioning your open source business to a revenue-based model


  8. 5 lessons for any open source business transitioning to a revenue-based model
    In a recent article on Opensource.com, I introduced Data Geekery, the company behind jOOQ, and talked about the challenges we faced when transitioning our products from open source to a revenue-based business model last year. Our team learned a lot about running a business in general as well as making a big transition in our structure. Here, I'll share the top 5 lessons we learned that every open source business making this kind of change should know.


  9. Nuxeo Platform 5.9.1 Is Out


  10. Pentaho launches open source community edition 5.0
    Newest version of Pentaho's open source data integration and business analytics platform


  11. Sequenom Chose Open Source EDC System ClinCapture for Cost Efficiency and Team Commitment


  12. Department for Business Innovation and Skills deploys open source electronic document management
    Open source consultancy Zaizi has been brought in by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to deploy the Alfresco Collaboration and Records Management service.


  13. What's the problem with DevOps?
    There's a small problem with DevOps; for some at least... DevOps is just a bit too much Ops and not quite enough Dev.


  14. Thales and MagTek Offer Open Source Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) Solution for Independent Payment Gateways


  15. Nginx Plus 2.0 Includes Improved Java Apps Support, Other Enhancements
    With more than 120 million Websites now powered by the Nginx Web server, commercial efforts to bring more features continue to grow.


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