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| Backblog—Charles Perez |
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Open source code...
Many people have heard of open source code and some will have heard of the licensing regime that follows much of that code - the essence of the regime is that if you use the open source code (ie. code that is freely distributed) you have to share your product with the rest of the coding community.
The unfortunate part is that, when you hire someone to do a job for you, it is difficult to tell if that someone has used open source code, and when you discover it, the horse has already been let out of the proverbial barn.
Under the category "misery loves company", take solace in the fact that even the biggest companies can fall victim to this problem (I call it a problem because companies often pay for some software product in the belief it will be proprietary).
The Motion Picture Association of America created a piece of software for distribution to universities to enable them to monitor their network traffic. Unfortunately for them, the programme contains open source code and a coder in the open source community has demanded the MPAA release the code. So far they have refused.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Stay tuned!
Charles Perez
Atlanteknology
TV on the Internet is here (almost)
At long last (well, almost) TV on the Internet is here. Not that I watch TV but it is nice in theory.
Go to Joost. it is not yet open to the public but you can sign up for the newsletter that will tell you when it will be open.
Now, this is a innovation that shows the true value of the internet and what good licensing can do in the digital world (at least in theory).
If only the rights holders in the music world would come up with a useful regime that will make them money and accommodate the the consumers of music. It is possible.
Charles Perez
Visit Charles's blog
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