Comments on: IT spending: Maintenance down, Web 2.0 up

Goldman Sachs is predicting that while collaboration and cloud computing will do well during the downturn, enterprises expect a quick return on their investments.

[ITRebel]

This all assumes that these are the only costs associated with open source code. If it is the type of proprietary open source code traditionally developed internally at a company and marketed as proprietary code, then this is a safe projection for the IT Manager.

However, if it is the type of open source code that has been potentially developed by every other hacker through the GNU GPL license, then this cost could be substantially higher for the poor IT Manager if the code must be yanked due to legal reasons. The problem is that you do not know what part of the code has been developed legally and what part is hacked code in code developed with the GNU GPL. Many who develop under the GNU GPL openly brag about their ability to hack proprietary encrypted software; the legal basis of their hacking is very questionable. Please see a very good article in the Cornell Law Review that reviews recent law cases that raise this problematic issue with the GNU GPL based code. The legal scholar who writes this article is very sympathetic to open source GNU GPL development, but gives an honest assessment of the major legal problems that are likely to face it in a coming "Ice Age of Open Source Development". Here is the link:

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/cornell-law-review/upload/CRN504Hwang.pdf

[MSSlayer]

Still parroting this BS?

You don't seem to know anything about programming.

[someguy999]

Wow... I wrote previously how this guy was all propoganda and now he's traight up talking about his sales pipeline... wow... I love the last part "its a tough economy ... but my company which co-incidently, in case I didn't mention... oh wait I did ... but I will again... sells collaboration... and you should use us... this report says so!"

I didn't realize that CNET News had become straight up an advertisement article set like the back side of a cheescake factory menu.

I really don't have a problem with the right hammer for the right nail... but this guy is rediculous in his over the top statements and gratuitous self company promotion (in what I thought) was a news organization.