I ran into this interesting piece on Wired News over the weekend about a session at last week's JavaOne Conference about the merits of taking Java open-source. Two things struck me about it. The lack of enthusiasm to the whole open-source issue, and just how much Sun sounds like Microsoft when it comes to taking their software open-source.
Hard core open-source advocates like to portray their cause as being mainstream, with the vast majority on their side. The tech media has done nothing to really dissuade us from it as being fact. But one thing in this news item caught my eye regarding the issue...
...Tim O'Reilly opened the discussion by asking the audience "How many of you out there, in your free time or work time, currently hack on an open source project?" only about half a dozen people clapped in acknowledgement.
Perhaps one of these days I'll pen a rant regarding my theories on open-source, but until then, let's just say that this little snippet confirms my suspicions on the matter.
As for Sun's reasons for resisting calls to take Java open-source, let's just say that I understand their point of view. But I have to say it sounds a little hypocritical given their (McNeely's and Sun's) past positions regarding Microsoft.