Birth of a Meme: the O(o)pen Web

One of the interesting slogans that the Mozilla Foundation has been pushing a lot recently is the idea of the “open Web”. That's clearly distinct from an *open source* Web, but the latter is more or less predicated on the former, since a Web that isn't open is hardly going to be very welcoming to open code....

On Open Enterprise blog.

Eee PC SDK

I don't normally blog about heavy developer issues, because that's not the focus here. But I think this news is important:

Asus has launched a software developer kit or SDK for the Eee PC. Let's ignore the fact that the Eee PC uses open source software, so you shouldn't really need an SDK to develop applications and just focus on the fact that this kit includes tools and instructions for writing applications that can be easily added to the Eee PC's easy mode interface.

...


the SDK includes the following components:

* Xandros Desktop Open Circulation Version 4.5
* QT
* Eclipse
* QT plugin for Eclipse
* Debian packaging wizard developed by Xandros

The user guide also includes detailed instructions for creating applications and icons that will work in the Eee PC's Easy Mode interface.

Against the slightly worrying background of increased focus by Asus on Windows XP for the Eee PC, I think (hope) this confirms that the company remains committed to the original platform.

Open Source: All You Need is Love (Mostly)

On Open Enterprise blog.

Open Source Motivation

Well, strictly speaking, it's about the motivation of those in open source:

Open source software has enabled large system integrators to increase their profits through cost savings and reach more customers due to flexible pricing. This has upset existing ecosystems and shuffled structural relationships, resulting in the emergence of firms providing consulting services to open source projects. This new breed of service firm in turn lives or dies by its ability to recruit and retain appropriate talent.

For such talent, in particular for software developers, life has become more difficult and exciting at once. Developers face new career prospects and paths, since their formal position in an open source project, in addition to their experience and capabilities, determines their value to an employer. Economically rational developers strive to become committers to high-profile open source projects to further their careers, which in turn generates more recognition, independence, and job security.

Nothing startlingly new, but some nice graphs. (Via Slashdot.)

Closing in on the Tipping Point

If users are a software company's bread and butter today, developers are the future. That's why Microsoft has built up such an impressive developers' programme. Keep them sweet, and you keep tomorrow safe.

Well, that was the theory, but something seems to be going wrong. The latest of the by-now venerable Evans Data reports on developers shows some pretty amazing trends.

Try these for size:

developers said that in the next 12 to 18 months they expect to be developing more Linux apps than Windows apps.

...

developers with Linux chops report that their top two development choices are Web-based interfaces and rich client applications. This was expected because these types of apps have such wide usage.

The No. 3 choice, however, falls under the category of “emerging market”: Linux desktop apps.

...

The organizations that these developers work for (or are aligned with) will be taking a look at many open source applications in the next two years, the survey finds.

A hefty 69% will consider open source browser Firefox, with 70% planning on considering application development software.

Also interesting is the popularity of code re-use:

developers are using chunks of code from the open source library, or open source third party solutions, to complete their own projects.

The survey finds the practice is particularly popular because of today’s tight development cycles. Also driving popularity is the cornucopia of open source choices that are now available. Some 32% of developers say “ease of use” prompts them to use pre-written open source code, with 25% reporting “quality” as their rationale.

Is that the sound of a bandwagon approaching? (Via Tuxmachines.org.)

God Bless this Contrarian, and All who Sail in Her

There's nothing like a good contrarian for rocking the boat. And with a blog posting entitled "Developers do not matter, Users even less. Part 1: He who owns the code shall rule them all" you can tell there are going to be some waves.

What's interesting for me, is that part 2 of this splendid rant ends with the words:

In part three of this essay, I shall try to examine the implications of the user-developer relationship when applied to the discussion on the GPL v3.

This is clearly setting up the big "user" versus "user" battle that underpins the current GPLv3 bust-up, something of particular interest to me at the moment. I can't wait.

The Dark Side of Eclipse

Eclipse has finished last as far as quality of features are concerned in a survey of developers conducted by Evans Data Corp, and reported by The Register. Looks like there's some work to do here, chaps.