Java: With a Double Shot of Confusion
November 12, 2010
The idea of open source makes sense. A community adds bits and bytes. Gathered together, the software comes without the iron maiden, the thumb screws, and the leg irons provided by vendors of proprietary software. A company licensing open source can make fixes but the goal is to give back. Utopia? Almost.
I will be the first to admit that I don’t understand the various open source licenses. That’s okay. Others do. What has baffled me is what could happen as Oracle tries to cope with its various open source demons. My view is that Oracle wants money. If open source software can contribute lots of dough to Oracle, Oracle would be okay with open source. The focus is money expressed in terms of customer control, software control, and competitor control.
I read “Apache Declares War on Oracle over Java.” I am now even more confused. The write up is fine. What’s giving me a headache is the prospect of lots of craziness. If open source is going to gain traction in the enterprise, “war” increases uncertainty. If there is one thing that the enterprise big wigs loathe, it is uncertainty in my opinion.
No matter what happens in this “war”, the damage is done. Procurement teams are likely to see vendors with proprietary software as less uncertain. Who cares if the stuff is more expensive, certainty may be more important. The implications of this “war” is boosted by Google’s legal action on the US Department of the Interior. Microsoft won a deal, and now I think Microsoft and other vendors of proprietary software delivered with an assortment of chains and leg irons may be perceived as less risky than some open source options.
Stephen E Arnold, November 12, 2010
Freebie
Step
Comments
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
