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Source of Suspicion (3/17/99)
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And here comes the backlash, mild though it may be... Only one day after Apple announced that it was making portions of its new Mac OS X Server operating system "open-source," some advocates of the open-source movement are expressing concern over certain portions of Apple's Public Source License. According to a Wired News article, Bruce Perens (co-founder of the Open Source Initiative) has "serious misgivings" about clauses in the license that might cripple any chance of a true open-source collaboration.
Allowing people to download the source code for Mac OS X Server is meant to encourage developers to make their own changes to the operating system, allowing it to become faster and more secure at a quicker rate than if Apple were working on it alone. But Perens and others have posted an open letter to Apple that notes several points in the license that he feels are deal-breakers; among them are clauses that potentially allow Apple to "suspend use of the whole system," which would leave developers in the lurch. There are also points in the contract that would apparently make life tough for those using Apple's source code in the unlikely event that Apple goes out of business.
Is this a case of Apple trying to keep a grip on its software even while claiming to back the open-source movement? We doubt it. For their part, Apple claims the license concerns raised by Perens are a simple misunderstanding, they've "gone into the open-source arena with pure hearts," and they "want to do what's best for the community." We expect Apple will tweak their license's wording so that Berens and others will be satisfied, and the open-source development of Mac OS X Server will succeed. Whether this all works out or not, one thing's for sure: Apple's certainly getting its money's worth in the media hype department. It seems like everyone's buzzing about Darwin and what it could mean to Apple, its customers, the competition, and the entire computing industry.
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SceneLink (1404)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/17/99 episode: March 17, 1999: Just one day after Apple announced Darwin, open-source advocates have qualms about the wording of Apple's Public Source License. Meanwhile, the fact that Apple's first public-source OS is named Darwin would seem to put to rest the speculation about "mammals.org," and Apple gets into the St. Patrick's Day spirit with a special on Lime iMacs...
Other scenes from that episode: 1405: Of Mammals and Burnings (3/17/99) By the way, we suppose this whole Darwin thing puts an end to the speculation about just what the heck was up with Apple's registration of the "mammals.org" domain name. Darwin, as you probably know, is Apple's publicly-available open-source operating system that is based on Mac OS X Server's foundation layers... 1406: Comes With Free Beer (3/17/99) Ah, St. Patrick's Day-- the day on which everyone's Irish and the green beer flows like a mighty river. Personally, it doesn't rank as one of our favorite holidays of all time-- after all, we don't drink, we look terrible in green, and no one even gets any presents...
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