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Dilbert mentions Open Source today. Or, rather, his boss mentions it “because it’s free.” Which it is, but it’s the freedom to run, modify, and share software that’s important. In the Pointy-Haired Boss’s office: PHB: “From now on, I want you to use Open Source software for everything we do. It’s free.” Dilbert: “I’ll be…

The issue of whether OSI should shift from the current limited board composition to be a [potentially] representative member-based structure has been a fairly long-standing question. However, it has been gaining more traction and attention of late, and we have a forum here on the OSI site for discussions about it. Yesterday I seeded the…

The Impact of Design on Stock Market Performance dates back to 2004, but the kernel of truth it reveals could be even more stunning for the world of open source. Here is the teaser from the Dexiner (pronounced Designer) website: Design is a critical component of business performance. We’ve heard designers, commentators and companies say…

I first met Pierre Fricke in late 1998 or early 1999 when he was working for IBM. He was one of four people charged by IBM to research and evaluate the strategic implications of open source software for IBM’s business. Because I was a founder of the world’s first open source company, he was keen…

We’ve been setting up our calendar for OSCON 2007 Once again the OSI Board will be holding public meetings and also a day-long work session. Michael just blogged the “high points” but this is the whole list. As always, we’re hoping to see any and all supporters of Open Source. There are some very interesting…

Innovation requires imagination. Henry Ford once said, “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” Making innovative leaps requires design thinking and a culture that looks beyond what exists today. In the past two years, Nussbaum has written and blogged almost daily about the ways in which D-school (Design…

The Foundation for Economic Education publishes a journal called ‘The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty’. They published this article in January: Open-Source Software: Who Needs Intellectual Property? by Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine

I am proud to be a member of the open source community. I am especially proud when I can use open source to do something really unexpected, like getting my daughter all excited about doing something just a little bit batty, making a promise of success, and then, delivering on that promise, in spades.

I started to respond to David Richards (the CEO of CentricCRM) comment to the thread I started last week, but that thread has generated a number of sub-threads which I think are better addressed separately. (You can be the judge as to whether this thread separation is a good idea or not.) Thus, I gave…

Dana Blankenhorn’s story How far can open source CRM get? has finally pushed me to respond to the many people who have asked “When is the OSI going to stand up to companies who are flagrantly abusing the term ‘open source’?” The answer is: starting today. I am not going to start by flaming Dana.…