HP beats its chest over Linux contribution
Open source has become so commonplace, about the only time that one sees press releases around it is when a company releases all or a significant chunk of its software under an open-source license. The other time is when a company new to open source releases code, and wants to tell the world that slowly but surely it is getting a clue.
All of which makes HP's announcement that it is contributing its Tru64 Advanced File System (AdvFS) to the Linux community a bit puzzling. It's a significant contribution, yes, but it's not as if HP hasn't been contributing actively to the Linux community for years. Why the press release?
It's not the sort of announcement that IBM would make. If you read through IBM's open source-related press releases of the past few years, you won't find this sort of announcement, despite IBM's heavy involvement in Linux and other communities. So why did HP feel compelled to announced the AdvFS contribution?
It's a bit gauche, really. Everyone already knows that HP is a significant contributor to Linux. Why flaunt it?
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. 
Get over it. You have nothing over HP, Novell, IBM, Oracle, ad infinitum. You've got nothing.
Time to shut up or start doing something yourself. No, an aserbic, critical blog every day or so doesn't add up to productivity. Go away.