That's a serious responsibility for our industry to consider...
I also would like to voice my support for the
World Social Forum taking place in Brazil simultaneously, I caught some reporting on BBC video news and again the issue of duplicity of effort was mentioned, i.e. many groups with the same cause unaware of each other's common interests, not an uncommon phenomenon but
we should remember not everyone is on the net or has access to it yet.
It will be of interest to see what new open standards emerge that cater for these communities as more and more come online and most of all, how will they and essentially us, as software architects,
avoid duplicity of effort.
IBM plans to announce today that it is making 500 of its software patents freely available to anyone working on open-source projects, like the popular Linux operating system, on which programmers collaborate and share code.
The new model for I.B.M., analysts say, represents a shift away from the traditional corporate approach to protecting ownership of ideas through patents, copyrights, trademark and trade-secret laws.
The conventional practice is to amass as many patents as possible and then charge anyone who wants access to them. I.B.M. has long been the champion of that formula. The company, analysts estimate, collected $1 billion or more last year from licensing its inventions.
The move comes after a lengthy internal review by I.B.M., the world's largest patent holder, of its strategy toward intellectual property. I.B.M. executives said the patent donation today would be the first of several such steps. John Kelly, the senior vice president for technology and intellectual property, called the patent contribution "the beginning of a new era in how I.B.M. will manage intellectual property."
Having had the fortune to spend some quality time away from the
'screen' several ideas have been bouncing around my head - I'm going to put
some structure round 'scouting ant object' thoughts and their place in community of practice 'hives' that I've had recently that relate to podcasting and social peer 2 peer networking; but sadly rather than post something original today, and as ever and always in admiration of other people's content, I could not hold back on blogging about this: another essay on why
free is ok.
"Free Open-Source Software is not the brainchild of latter-day hippies, nor is it the doom of Western commerce. Rather, it is a natural and inevitable evolutionary step in the lifecycle of a software technology. By understanding the software lifecycle, FOSS proponents can better understand both the time and place for FOSS projects. FOSS efforts can be frustrating and unrewarding if attempted when a particular technology is moving fast and large amounts of capital are being invested. But when a technology matures, or when a technology is of no commercial interest, FOSS is a powerful tool that can bring the technology to the world for free. Free as in freedom, and free as in beer.
And similarly, by understanding the software lifecycle, software companies can avoid fighting a losing battle against FOSS. As a technology changes from proprietary to FOSS, a company can profit from its expertise in the technology, support the FOSS movement, and offer niche products, support and services that complement the FOSS effort. Software companies should not assume that their market will last forever. The more interesting and useful the technology is, the shorter the commercial phase. Instead of fighting it, move with it." - anyone remember Dune when he bends like a reed in the wind ;-)
Thanks to Slashdot for catching this one.