Re: Will Open Source be forced to go Proprietary

From: Christopher Browne <cbbrowne(at)acm(dot)org>
To: pgsql-advocacy(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: Will Open Source be forced to go Proprietary
Date: 2004-01-09 03:45:10
Message-ID: m3y8shg4zd.fsf@wolfe.cbbrowne.com
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In an attempt to throw the authorities off his trail, pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us (Bruce Momjian) transmitted:
> Alex Satrapa wrote:
>> Rod Taylor wrote:
>> > Discussion about OpenSource projects moving to support Windows.
>> [link]
>>
>> This article was WOFTAM (Waste of Time And Money).
>>
>> The article asks if open source projects will be "forced to go
>> proprietary" without describing what "proprietary" means. I'm not sure
>> the author really understands the software "industry".
>>
>> One of the telling comments is that the author confuses "published" with
>> "open" - Microsoft has indeed "published" the XML schema for it's new
>> range of Microsoft Office products, but the patent it has applied for
>> implies that the schema is not "open". Software can be "proprietary"
>> without being "closed".
>
> As is MySQL. They say you can't produce a non-GPL client that talks to
> their server via the protocol. They say they will enforce this via
> patents.

_VIA PATENTS_!?!??!? [Chris says, with an incredulous look...]

Are they _totally_ suicidal?

That's doubtless a wonderful route if their plan is to get MySQL
removed from "open source" collections, and to get a bunch of Slashdot
"script kiddies" to start pulling SCO-like DOS attacks on their web
sites.

If they decide to define that as "success," they can doubtless attain
'success' beyond their wildest dreams...
--
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No lusers were harmed in the creation of this usenet article. AND I
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