Sue Me First

Interesting net war is shaping up after Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith alleged that Open Source community is infringing on 235 of Microsoft patent rights. Now, Open Source community from Linus Torvalds to end users are up in arms. Linus Torvalds publicly stated that, the story is other way around and it is probably Microsoft that is infringing others' patents. But, Neither has clearly stated who is violating what patent and how.

Now, enter the fray, Digital Tipping Point, an online website dedicated to open source. They have created a wiki called sue me first which seems to be growing in its popularity every day. Check it out yourself.

You know my thoughts on open source. It is here to stay and will fundamentally change the dynamics of the discussion from software to solutions. Companies that can offer flexible, composable solutions will gain upper hand over traditional bloated software providers.

Open Source Java

With the change of CEO, Sun finally relented and made Java open source ...

So, what does it mean to the consumers / developers and Microsoft?

Not because of Java is Open Source now, but it will give impetus to making Java

1. More ubiquitous (Its already in 3.8 billion devices now..)
2. More developers (from 4 million to ????)
3. Microsoft will double up to have a open source play of their own, notwithstanding their partnership with Novell.

Open Source movement is profoundly changing the software industry landscape and only time will tell its impact on MISO companines. (Microsoft, IBM, SAP & Oracle). Open Source movement hasn't hit the corporate data centers in a big way yet, but that is bound to happen in the next 5+ years.

My take is Open source and software as service will change the way software is developed, implemented and consumed. This is will have significant impact on large Indian SI companies like Infosys, Wipro & TCS etc.,

What's your take?

A Linux Win?

Microsoft has inked a unique deal with Novell that will make Windows and SuSE Linux co-exist peacefully in corporate data centers. Is this a win for Linux as Red Hat claims?

I don't know, but it is sure an acknowledgment by Redmond of the growing popularity of Linux.

Now what is the future of Unix (AIX, HP-UX, Sun Solaris)? More importantly, the one trick pony company called Sun? Why would corporations pay premium for Unix and the necessary expensive hardware? What's your take?