gplv2

Microsoft's Linux contribution: Thank Novell?

Microsoft's move to offer several Linux drivers owes a lot to a key programmer at Novell.

Linux veteran--and Novell fellow--Greg Kroah-Hartman suggested to Microsoft about four months ago that the company release the three drivers to be part of Linux under the GNU General Public License (GPL) terms that govern Linux code. Kroah-Hartman, who helps oversee the inclusion of drivers into Linux, said he worked within his company to find the right contacts at Microsoft.

"They reacted well," Kroah-Hartman said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "They were open to it. It just took a … Read more

Microsoft embraces GPL, opens Hyper-V to Linux with LinuxIC

Old dogs may struggle with new tricks, but they seem to be able to figure out new licenses.

In a shocking move, Microsoft announced Monday the release of Hyper-V Linux Integration Components (LinuxIC).

The news reflects Microsoft's continued interest in lobotomizing its virtualization competition through low prices, but also the recognition that it must open up if it wants to fend off insurgent virtualization strategies from Red Hat, Novell, and others in the open-source camp.

But the truly startling news is that LinuxIC is being released under the GNU General Public License (version 2). Microsoft once called GPL anti-American. … Read more

Microsoft, TomTom settle patent dispute

Microsoft and TomTom have reached a settlement in their respective patent suits, the companies said Monday.

As part of the deal, as TomTom will pay Microsoft for patent protection related to mapping patents and file-management patents that Microsoft claimed were infringed by TomTom's use of the Linux kernel. Microsoft will also get access to the TomTom patents that were cited in TomTom's countersuit against Microsoft, although Microsoft won't make any payment to TomTom.

In a statement, the two companies said that the settlement provides TomTom patent coverage "in a manner that is fully compliant with TomTom'… Read more

Advertising the open-source way with Openads

Openads is one of the most interesting open-source projects/companies on the planet. Period. It's an open-source ad server. Like DoubleClick without the lock-in or fees. In other words, it's open source--100 percent GPLv2. I guess it should be no surprise that the world's most popular ad server, powering Web 2.0 business models, is open source, just as the LAMP stack is the technological basis for Web 2.0 sites/services.

I've been following Openads since May, when my friend Bryce Roberts indicated that he was considering investing in the company. (And so he/O'Reilly Alpha Tech Ventures did, along with Index Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partner and First Capital in a $5 million Series A round of funding, as Tim O'Reilly reports.)

I caught up today with Scott Switzer, Openads' founder and CTO, to learn more about the company and what it does. Unlike most open-source start-ups, Openads isn't focused on enterprise software. It provides an ad server. This sounds great, but what does it mean? And why does open source matter in this market? That's what I asked Scott.… Read more

Mark Lewis of EMC on GPLv3: A step in the wrong direction?

It's great to have Mark Lewis blogging. I remember pinging him about OSBC involvement back in 2003 when, as now, his title reflected open source strategy. He then got pulled into some other areas at EMC. He's exceptionally bright and a credit to his employer. Good to have him back, focused on open source issues.

On this particular one - GPLv3 - I think his corporate affiliation may be coloring his opinion somewhat, as he spends too much time worrying about the ability to mingle proprietary code with GPLv3 code.

The newly aggressive provisions about what code combinations must be covered by GPLv3 create cumbersome issues for anyone, proprietary or open, who wants to combine code under another license with GPLv3....… Read more

IT Business Edge podcast: the impact of GPLv3

I spent an engaging hour yesterday with IT Business Edge, talking about the likely industry impact of GPLv3. Other participants on the call included:

Rob Enderle, an analyst and principal of the Enderle Group, and also a blogger with us at IT Business Edge; Bernard Golden, founder and CEO of open source consulting firm Navica and a blogger for CIO.com. Chris Maresca, founder and senior partner of the Olliance Group, a leading open source business consultancy. Rob can be a firebrand, but I found him to be a perfect gentleman and his positions well-reasoned. He did help to make … Read more