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| by Sam Varghese | |
| Friday, 29 February 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 When talking about open standards, Cunningham points to the ongoing tussle for adoption of Microsoft Office Open XML as a document standard - when an established ISO standard, the cross-platform Open Document Format, has existed for some years. He also asked Microsoft to extend its open specification promise to high-volume products - and we all know what those products are. Featured Whitepaper
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Cunningham also contends that the announcement appears to shut out competition from the open source community. And, rightly, he asks: "How else can you explain a 'promise not to sue open source developers' as long as they develop and distribute only 'non-commercial' implementations of interoperable products?" (Of course, the best indication of Microsoft's commitment to interoperability is the fact that material accompanying this announcement for publicity purposes is in one of three formats - .wma, wmv and docx. That's openness for you.) What's notable about this response from a lawyer is that it does not descend into any kind of bizspeak or legalese. It is short, sharp and to the point. No beating about the bush - you know exactly where Red Hat stands on this issue. A third facet of Red Hat was evident to me earlier this week, when I had access to a video clip, actually the third in a series, in which Linux guru Alan Cox talks about the kernel, patent promises and the progress of free software. Cox is one of those in the FOSS community who embodies the spirit of the scientist - and there are just a few of them around. He has been a fixture at Red Hat since 1998, first as a contractor and then as a full-time employee. The second-best known full-bearded face in the community (the first, of course, belongs to Richard Stallman) Cox comes through as a gentle and humble person. He is a legend in the community but still attributes his position to being in the right place at the right time. And when he appears as the face of Red Hat - as he does in the three video clips which I viewed - it certainly lifts the company's profile. |
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