Licensing

9th Circuit rules against contract changes by fiat

It's long been a practice within the software world to refer to terms and conditions of a service or product via URL.

In other words, I might sign a physical contract with Customer X, but the contract points to all sorts of other online "documents" for specifics of training, support services, etc. Savvy attorneys, therefore, require that such "moving targets" be removed, forcing them to be hard-wired into the document.

But now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (which covers California, Washington and Oregon) is helping the not-so-savvy, as ComputerWorld reports. You can read the ruling in its entirety here (PDF).

The court said that because a contract is an agreement between two parties, one of the parties cannot change it unless the other party agrees to the change...… Read more

Aping the worst of proprietary software

Dave Dargo has written a thoughtful piece on one problem with proprietary software today: it spends too much time isolating itself as a product, rather than opening up itself and combining to create solutions. As it turns out, open-source software is following in these same destructive footsteps, as we notes:… Read more

The 21st century's best open-source license?

I've been mentioning Larry Rosen's Open Software License (OSL) off and on over the last few weeks.

But today I decided to give OSL a deep dive in light of the failure of General Public License (GPL) version 3 to protect software developers from network distribution of their works and the success of the Common Public Attribution License (CPAL) in protecting these same developers by calling out network distribution.

The OSL works because, like the GPL, it's concerned with contributions, not credit (i.e., attribution). Ultimately, this is what a strong open-source license should provide. It's the best protection of freedom and, let's be frank, revenue.

The OSL is, in my opinion, one of the best licenses for the 21st century. Here's why.… Read more

What does CPAL mean and how did it get approved?

NOTE: I am not speaking for the OSI in this (or any other) blog entry.

I will admit to entering the OSI's deliberations of the recently approved Common Public Attribution License a little late, and leaving early, so I don't have the full context as to how or why it was approved (given the stink around attribution licenses last year). I'm not a big fan of the license (having developed a distaste for this form of license in last year's brouhaha over attribution licenses), but I applaud Ross Mayfield in the way he went about it.

It's interesting that last year's anathema is suddenly mainstream, as Michael Tiemann notes:… Read more

Microsoft decides 'open' is better than 'shared': What this says about OSI

Tim notes that Microsoft will be submitting its shared-source licenses to the OSI for approval. He calls this "huge, long-awaited,...and earthshaking." It's actually none of the above, but it is welcome.

It will do little to blur the "bright line between Microsoft and the open-source community," as Tim suggests it will. That bright line is increasingly drawn by Microsoft, and not by the community. This will not erase patent FUD, for example, from the collective consciousness. But I suppose it does help Microsoft to start acting like a full participant, rather than an outsider.

But this isn't the real news.… Read more

OpenMFG transforms into xTuple, but misses the open-source train

OpenMFG just took one step forward, and two steps backward. First, the positive. The company, which provides ERP and CRM solutions for small to medium-sized enterprises, has rebranded itself as xTuple. It has also developed PostBooks, a QuickBooks competitor.

Good stuff. We need more software like this. What we don't need, however, is xTuple's flawed licensing scheme that feints at open source, but falls far short.

xTuple's license is a mess, on two primary accounts:… Read more

SugarCRM goes GPLv3...but not for the reasons you're thinking

John Roberts has taken some flak for his open source position. But that's not the reason for SugarCRM's announcement today that it has gone to GPLv3 for its Community Edition (formerly called "Sugar Open Source"). You can view the FAQ here.

I've been talking with John for months (years, actually) about this, and it has always been on the radar. It has always been a matter of "when," not "if."

John and the SugarCRM team founded the company on the ideals and promise of open source. Now no one would challenge their right to do call themselves such.

Including Eben Moglen, executive director of the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) and outside counsel to the Free Software Foundation:… Read more

Intel proves its open source chops with Threading Building Blocks 2.0

Peter Galli at eWeek is reporting on Intel's open sourcing of its Threading Building Blocks 2.0 software, a C++ template library that simplifies the development of software applications running in parallel. The software solves a big problem: helping developers write applications that live and breathe well in a multi-processor world.

Intel is not doing this out of pure charity, though after spending some time with Dirk Hohndel this morning, I think there is some of that involved. No, the more value people find in applications, the more applications they'll buy/systems they'll buy. That helps Intel.

Intel, however, shows its open source acumen in how and why it's open sourcing TBB:… Read more

Learning through adversity

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah, a day when Utahns reflect on the sacrifice that brought 70,000 people 1,300 miles across the United States into present-day Utah. My own family was part of this group. In fact, there's a wonderful quote from Brigham Young about the Asays when he bumped into them while traveling in Southern Utah. He critiqued their sloth in still living out of their wagons, but said they made him the best fish dinner he'd had. Some things never change.... :-)

As I look back on what my family and others did, I'm impressed by how hardship focused and shaped the thoughts and feelings of a people. While some of the pioneers suffered greatly in making the trek, for others it was more hearty inconvenience and discomfort. But for all, it was a formative time.

Years later, a group that hadn't been through the ordeal criticized those who had for foolishly leaving late in the year, such that the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies were caught in a terrible winter. Here's the response from one who had lived through it:… Read more