OVER at IDG's pseudo-open source blog there is some rather insulting new piece from Shimel.
“The writer makes statements that are full of FUD and disinformation.”
--AnonymousThese attempts to belittle Linux while glamourising 'open' core (proprietary) at Open Source's expense do not surprise us, but does that belong in a so-called "Open Source" blog? This only leads to further erosion of the term "Open Source".
Over at Linux Today we found just a couple of comments, which we thought were both worth quoting. The first one says: "If the author wanted to rant (and it is a rant) that he liked the "open core" model, he should have just said so. Instead he chose to set up straw men. I mean, does anybody really believe that everything that runs on Linux must be released under an "open source" (free software?) license or that it must be offered w/o charge? If so, that person hasn't been paying attention! And where does he come up with the notion that all free software will attract a sizable contributor base like the Linux kernel? That is absurd on the face of it. He is correct that one can create "open core" software legally -- i.e. w/o violating licenses. (Whether it is moral can be debated. I am sure RMS would be happy to oblige.) One doesn't need the straw men arguments to do that. However, whether non-free software is *desirable* from a user's perspective is a whole different question. One the author of this rant conveniently avoids."
Another commenter says: "Can't you find something better for marketing your typically closed products than labeling them as 'open source' in order to make your customers understand that they can download a free trial version?"
We've said it before and it's worth saying again: be careful of IDG's "open source" blog. They even have Microsoft employees writing there now. The tone and agenda are set by the selection process. ⬆