Here are my follow-up notes on OSS (or "open source stuff", as Iain says), as promised. These continue from my pre-seminar notes, so you might want to look at them first.
The OSS Pitch
Strategic Position: Network enabled collaboration makes better software
User Position: You control you own destiny Core Competencies: Understanding Internet era software development methodologies; Using free-code distribution to gain market share; and Commoditizing markets to undercut major players
Key Messages: The Internet depends on OSS; You can make more money when you give away the software
Advantages of OSS $0.00 You can modify Global OS developer community You can help determine future direction Low cost ?¢‚Ǩ?ìtry it out first?¢‚Ǩ¬ù model No vendor agenda Rapid globalization (e.g. language choice)
Disadvantages of OSS Feature Creep Lack of Documentation Quality Control? By programmers, for programmers – but what about me?
These are open to debate of course
Discussed three business models:
Value-add model (e.g. Redhat)
Services Model (e.g. Productivity Solutions Inc)[disclosure: I’m involved with this company]
Co-operative Model (e.g. Avalanche)
Discussed the Creative Commons licenses, as well as the difference between the General Public license (GPL) and the typical End User License Agreement (EULA). An Australian firm, Cybersource, has an analysis report which compares the two (long PDF to download).
The source for open source software: Source Forge
