Script Start and the 'open source on Microsoft' movement
I just saw this in Application Development Trends: Script Start, a Windows logon scripting tool, is going open source. Entrigue Systems, the company behind Script Start, is still mulling over licensing options - GPLv2 or v3, most likely - but the code should be released in the September timeframe.
All good. And especially interesting because it's yet another Windows-focused open-source tool.
So, what's this code all about?
Essentially a logon script processor, Script Start provides a GUI-based tool to let network admins map drives, install printers, configure Outlook profiles, adjust Internet proxy settings, configure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections and customize clients during user logon. The goal is to help in-house IT professionals focus their attention on more important projects, rather than running from cube to cube.
Why open source it? I mean, no one cares about source code, right? Well, according to the company, the decision was made because "the open source community and our users have repeatedly requested that we make Script Start open source so that the solution can more fully and rapidly adapt to specific corporate and system integrator implementations." I guess open standards weren't enough. (Sorry, Savio - couldn't resist.)
And, again, this is especially interesting because it brings more open source to Windows. Open source on Linux is great. But open source needs to be wherever customers are. Many are still on Windows, so open source should follow them there (and lead them away, but that's another blog post :-).
Good work, Entrigue. I'd love to hear back on how this experiment goes.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
