[ale] Intraware article on linux and open source

[Eric Webb]

May 19, 1999


   Could Linux Limit the Reach of Open Source?
   By Justin Benson
 
I recently saw a quote from Microsoft Company president Steve Ballmer in which he stated that his
company was closely investigating the notion of open source code. Steve certainly didn't go so far
as to embrace open source as a whole, but he did concede that there were areas where it could be
effective. The open source community responded with a predictable mixture of skepticism laced with
enthusiasm that Microsoft might indeed see the light. My own feeling is that rather than adopting
the underlying philosophy of the open source community, Microsoft will only embrace that which
strengthens Microsoft's current business model. 

For example, many customers experience difficulty when connecting databases to their NT servers.
Microsoft has indicated they may open up the source code that specifically relates to this area
of the operating system in order to improve their customer's experience and assure analysts that it
is indeed addressing the threat from the "open source" movement. However, I don't think anyone
expects much more than that from Microsoft in the immediate future. 
 
What I found most interesting, though, was that Steve Ballmer's comments referred only to
 Microsoft's operating systems - to the next incarnation of Windows NT in particular. I
thought to myself, "What happened to software applications?" This charge
really applies to all software vendors; it seems to me that open source might be a
victim of Linux's success. 
 
Open source software and Linux have become synonymous in many people's
minds. This is partially because Linux embodies the principles of open source,
and mainly because it is currently the most commercially advanced
implementation of open source initiatives. Software vendor after software vendor
have "embraced open source" by simply porting their existing Unix applications
to Linux. Some don't even have to go that far, but rather just bring into the
commercial fold those versions of their software that others had already ported
to Linux. What typically follows is that these vendors reduce their pricing in an
attempt to seed the marketplace. While this may be another victory for Linux, it
doesn't appear to be much in the way of a victory for the open source movement
as a whole. 
 
So, has the open source movement become a victim of the success of Linux?
Or is one still inherently a victory for the other?  I am beginning to wonder. The
success of Linux seems to have greatly narrowed the debate around open
source. Apparently at this point, Microsoft inherently views it as an operating
system debate only. By dropping comments here and there about possibly
opening up some areas of their operating system source code, they are
deliberately or inadvertently narrowing the scope of the debate about open
source software. Large software vendors view Linux as another competing
operating system and therefore a potentially new revenue stream for existing
products. Being first to market on this platform may even be a way to increase
their overall market share. All of this is far removed from the vision of software
that many of the founders of the open source movement have. 
 
My fear is that Linux is now little more than another operating system, and what
just a few months ago appeared to be a ground swell for open source ideas has
quickly become absorbed into the system as it currently stands. 
 
 
 
 
About the Author: Justin Benson is the Product Manager for Development
and can be reached at development at intraware.com.