[LINK] Has Open Source Lost Its Halo?

[Brendan Scott]

Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> Has Open Source Lost Its Halo?
> Slashdot
> http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/07/02/15/1947224.shtml
> 
> PetManimal writes:
> 
> "Open-source software development once had a reputation as a grassroots
> movement, but it is increasingly a mainstream IT profit center, and
> according to Computerworld, some in the industry are asking whether
> 'open source' has become a cloak used by IT vendors large and small to
> disguise ruthless and self-serving behavior.
> <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9011340&intsrc=hm_list>
> 
> 
> Citing an online opinion piece by Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata
> Inc., <http://www.illuminata.com/perspectives/?p=252> the article notes
> that HP and IBM have not only profited from open-source at the expense
> of competitors, but have also boosted their images in the open-source
> community.

The original article is baloney:

"In effect Open Source has become a free pass for all sorts of competitive actions that would once have been—at a minimum—roundly criticized."

Price competition is a sign of a healthy competitive market.  It is predatory only in certain circumstances - ie the person is pricing low to force competitors out of the market after which they can then raise their prices to recoup the initial loss (and then some).  Given that open source permits anyone to distribute at no licence cost it is difficult to see how this could ever possibly become predatory - any subsequent change to pricing (or licensing) can be met by existing licensors redistributing. 

If open source destroys monopolies and forces rent seekers out of the market that is a good thing, at least according to the economists.


Brendan