[Fsfe-uk] OpenForum Europe insert in 'Director'

[Alex Hudson]

Director magazine has a special supplement this month, "Linux open
source software", in associated with OpenForum Europe. Unfortunately, it
does push the hardline open source message (by this I mean the idea that
"Linux" is a cheap platform to run Oracle on, etc.).

On particularly choice quote:

        "There is no practical reason why Microsoft and Linux cannot co-exist.
Linus Torvalds, the originator of Linux, said that 'software is like
sex, it is better when it is free', but if you want quality, you
sometimes have to pay."

Truly I have led a sheltered life, or I have missed the point they are
making :o)

I hate to call this a pro-open source magazine, because I suspect most
people who identify themselves as open source will have a number of
issues with it also. They have some strange definitions of things (their
definition of open source is not OSD-compliant, AFAIK), some of their
arguments are very weak (the argument about why open source is more
secure is particularly bad, or was badly edited). 

The main thrust of the insert is the OSS study that they commissioned
with Trend Consulting, which we talked about recently. There isn't
really anything new in the results - availability of support still the
main inhibitor to uptake, perception is becoming more positive over
time, etc. - but nothing headlining. One thing I didn't know, though,
was that apparently the DTi supported this research.

Cheers,

Alex.

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