Infoworld has an article "The fight over open source 'leeches', about the failure of enterprises to contribute the changes they make to open source software back upstream to the project.
Many companies do use open source, and that is a good thing. Most of that software is well suited to the task, and usually it is much easier to understand, more flexible and also easier to debug than their closed source equivalents. But open source requires that enterprises adjust their process with regard to changes and deployment of software in order to be successful open source users.
The fact that you can change open source software lures many companies into making changes to the software. But making the changes is just a small part of the work, and the most inexpensive one.
What usually happens is often this:
Continue reading "Open Source 'Leeches'"
"When it comes to open source communities, individuals are much better citizens than institutions. The enlightened self-interest that causes individuals to send back bug fixes, contribute ideas for new features, and write documentation is much harder to find in institutions," Dan Woods, CTO of Evolved Media, wrote in Forbes earlier this year.I have a very old article in my german language blog about Open Source Software and companies, and the infoworld article triggered me now to translate it:
Many companies do use open source, and that is a good thing. Most of that software is well suited to the task, and usually it is much easier to understand, more flexible and also easier to debug than their closed source equivalents. But open source requires that enterprises adjust their process with regard to changes and deployment of software in order to be successful open source users.
The fact that you can change open source software lures many companies into making changes to the software. But making the changes is just a small part of the work, and the most inexpensive one.
What usually happens is often this:
Continue reading "Open Source 'Leeches'"
