June 4, 2008 3:48 PM PDT
Random Sampler: An open-source EC2, Yahoo! opens up the address book, and more
Some very interesting tidbits floating around the open-source web today:
- OStatic gets a scoop on Eucalyptus, an open-source version of Amazon's EC2. I'm not sure if this means you still have to build your own data center, or whether it leverages EC2 as the backend, because I'm a little lacking in funds to be able to build out my own "cloud." (Kudos to OStatic for becoming a useful, productive member of the open-source blogging community. I read it every day.)
- Yahoo! has opened up the API to its address book, allowing developers to do things like "start[] up a social networking site...[by using] the interface to send invitations to a member's list of contacts stored at Yahoo." Cool. The web continues to open up, one interface at a time.
- Law.com talks through the business implications of open sourcerors litigating for the rights of free code. The article has taken some flack, but I think the argument is sound: Many companies have had a free ride on open source for some time, and may discover that open-source projects may start pushing for "payback," meaning code. I know some big enterprises now view "distribution" as something triggered by transferring servers to a new group through M&A or other normal business operations. Should enterprises start taking the GPL more seriously? Yes.
- Linux will own 23 percent of the smartphone market by 2013, writes ABI Research. It's about time. My first job in open source was in embedded Linux, providing the industry's first Linux-based PDA device (Sharp Zaurus). We thought we had started something back in 2001, but it sure took a long time....
That's all for now. The march for world domination keeps progressing.
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. 
