Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Unethical Business of Semi 'Open Source' (Proprietary Disguised as Open)

Summary: Examples of some bits of software that are not really FOSS but sure are (mis)using the "Open Source" brand

I RECENTLY had the horrible experience of spending weeks of my life wrestling with proprietary software that masquerades as "open" (for marketing). I needed to reverse-engineer some bits. A simple upgrade script, for example, is sold for just over $10,000. Without naming the company at hand, I only wish to say that fake 'open source' companies can be worse than proprietary because they use false marketing to seduce people and then act like predators. Over the past few weeks we have accumulated the articles below, highlighting what we believe to be fake 'open source' software and traps to watch out for. If we misclassified some of the examples below, then it simply means that the companies have done a terrible marketing job or are simply refusing to talk about freedom.



Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Best Free Shopping Carts
    The shopping cart software allows online shopping customers to accumulate a list of items for purchase, described metaphorically as “placing items in the shopping cart” or “add to cart”. Upon checkout, the software typically calculates a total for the order, including shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) charges and the associated taxes, as applicable.


  2. A New Philosophy for opentaps
    Make opentaps Benefit the Maximum Number of People


  3. The Role of Open Source in Orchestration
    The most challenging part of managing a complex IT infrastructure is not in the silos but the boundaries between those silos. Tools, processes, and even people have to be particularly flexible at the points where workflows intersect. And once these intersection points are codified (through tooling infrastructure, specific procedures, or training), they are exceedingly difficult to change.


  4. How enterprises drive innovation through open source technologies
    Conference to illustrate how businesses in the region can transform their IT infrastructures and drive strategic impact for their business through deployment of open source technologies.


  5. Goldman Sachs, with 10,000 tech workers, embraces open systems
    A surprising thing about Goldman Sachs, one of the globe's most influential investment banks, may be the sheer size of its technology organization. It makes up a major part of its workforce.


  6. OpenCRX: An open source Salesforce alternative
    Which CRM tool is best for your business? While Salesforce has a smooth, attractive interface and is easier to use in almost every aspect, openCRX offers features Salesforce lacks, such as invoicing capabilities, CalDAV support, integration with any email client, and support for LibreOffice, and arranges its key functionality into a more logical tab hierarchy. Because it's Java-based, openCRX can run on any Linux, Windows, or Mac OS server in your data center. And because it's open source software, you can modify the application to customize it for your needs. Though Salesforce has a lot going in its favor, openCRX is worth evaluating for its unique strengths.


  7. What to consider when transitioning your open source business to a revenue-based model


  8. 5 lessons for any open source business transitioning to a revenue-based model
    In a recent article on Opensource.com, I introduced Data Geekery, the company behind jOOQ, and talked about the challenges we faced when transitioning our products from open source to a revenue-based business model last year. Our team learned a lot about running a business in general as well as making a big transition in our structure. Here, I'll share the top 5 lessons we learned that every open source business making this kind of change should know.


  9. Nuxeo Platform 5.9.1 Is Out


  10. Pentaho launches open source community edition 5.0
    Newest version of Pentaho's open source data integration and business analytics platform


  11. Sequenom Chose Open Source EDC System ClinCapture for Cost Efficiency and Team Commitment


  12. Department for Business Innovation and Skills deploys open source electronic document management
    Open source consultancy Zaizi has been brought in by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to deploy the Alfresco Collaboration and Records Management service.


  13. What's the problem with DevOps?
    There's a small problem with DevOps; for some at least... DevOps is just a bit too much Ops and not quite enough Dev.


  14. Thales and MagTek Offer Open Source Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) Solution for Independent Payment Gateways


  15. Nginx Plus 2.0 Includes Improved Java Apps Support, Other Enhancements
    With more than 120 million Websites now powered by the Nginx Web server, commercial efforts to bring more features continue to grow.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Connected Sites Trying to Shift Attention Away From Microsoft's Megabreach Only Days Before Important If Not Unprecedented Grilling by the US Government?
Why does the mainstream media not entertain the possibility a lot of these talking points are directed out of Redmond?
Windows Has Fallen Below 5% in Iraq, GNU/Linux Surged Beyond 7% Based on statCounter's Stats
Must be something going on!
Read "Google Is Not What It Seems" by Julian Assange
In this extract from his new book When Google Met Wikileaks, WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange describes the special relationship between Google, Hillary Clinton and the State Department -- and what that means for the future of the internet
Julian Assange: Factual Timeline From an Online Friend
a friend's account
Breaking News: Assange Wins Right to Challenge Extradition to the US
This is great news, but maybe the full legal text will reveal some caveat
Brittany Day, Plagiarist in Chief (Chatbot Slinger)
3 articles in the front page of LXer.com right now are chatbot spew
Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com) Has Resorted to Plagiarism by Chatbots, Flooding the World Wide Web With Fake 'Articles' Wrongly Attributed to Brittany Day
busted
 
[Video] Just Let Julian Assange Go Back to Australia
Assange needs to be freed
Microsoft Windows Used to Have Nearly 100% in China and Now Google Has 50% (With Android)
Will China bring about a faster "fall" for Microsoft?
The WWW declares the end of Google
Reprinted with permission from Cyber|Show
Gemini Links 20/05/2024: CMSs and Lua "Post to midnight.pub" Script Alternative
Links for the day
Brodie Robertson - Never Criticise The Linux Foundation Expenses (With Transcript)
Transcript included
Links 20/05/2024: Protests and Aggression by Beijing
Links for the day
Can an election campaign succeed without social media accounts?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Fact check: relation to Julian Assange, founded Wikileaks at University of Melbourne and Arjen Kamphuis
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gambia: Windows Down to 5% Overall, 50% on Desktops/Laptops
Windows was measured at 94% in 2015
Links 20/05/2024: Microsoft Layoffs and Shutdowns, RTO as Silent Layoffs
Links for the day
The Issue With Junk Traffic in Geminispace (Gemini Protocol)
Some people have openly complained that their capsule was getting hammered by bot
Peter Eckersley, Laura Smyth & the rushed closure of dial-up Internet in Australian universities
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] Bullying the Victims
IBM: crybully of the year 2024
Ian.Community Should be Safer From Trademark Censorship
We wish to discuss this matter very quickly
Microsoft and Its Vicious Attack Dogs (Attacking Women or Wives in Particular)
Sad, pathetic, destructive people
Upcoming Series About the Campaign to 'Disappear' the Father of GNU/Linux
Today we have Julian Assange's fate to focus on
A Month From Now Gemini Protocol Turns 5
June 20
Colombia: From Less Than 0.5% to Nearly 4% for GNU/Linux
it's not limited to this one country
Rumour: Well Overdue Red Hat Layoffs to be Announced in About 3 Days
we know they've planned the layoffs for a while
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 19, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, May 19, 2024
Gemini Links 20/05/2024: Updated Noto Fontpacks and gemfeed2atom
Links for the day
GNU/Linux in Georgia: Looking Good
Windows down from 99% to less than 33%
Tomorrow is a Historic Day for Press Freedom in the UK
Take note of the Julian Assange case
Hiding in a Forest Without a Phone and Hiding Behind the First Amendment in the United States (US)
some serial defamer is trying to invert the narrative
Links 19/05/2024: Iran's President Lost in Helicopter Crash, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Awaits Decisions in Less Than a Day
Links for the day
Links 19/05/2024: Microsoft Investigated in Europe
Links for the day
4 Old Articles About Microsoft/IBM SystemD
old but still relevant
Firefox Has Fallen to 2% in New Zealand
At around 2%, at least in the US (2% or below this threshold), there's no longer an obligation to test sites for any Gecko-based browser
Winning Streak
Free software prevalence
Links 19/05/2024: Conflicts, The Press, and Spotify Lawsuit
Links for the day
GNU/Linux+ChromeOS at Over 7% in New Zealand
It's also the home of several prominent GNU/Linux advocates
libera.chat (Libera Chat) Turns 3 Today
Freenode in the meantime continues to disintegrate
[Teaser] Freenode NDA Expires in a Few Weeks (What Really Happened 3 Years Ago)
get ready
GNU/Linux is Already Mainstream, But Microsoft is Still Trying to Sabotage That With Illegal Activities and Malicious Campaigns of Lies
To help GNU/Linux grow we'll need to tackle tough issues and recognise Microsoft is a vicious obstacle
Slovenia's Adoption of GNU/Linux in 2024
Whatever the factor/s may be, if these figures are true, then it's something to keep an eye on in the future
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 18, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, May 18, 2024
Links 19/05/2024: Profectus Beta 1.2
Links for the day
Site Archives (Not WordPress)
We've finally finished the work
[Meme] The EPO Delusion
on New Ways of Working
EPO Representatives Outline Latest Attacks on Staff
Not much has happened recently in terms of industrial action
Links 18/05/2024: Revisiting the Harms of Patent Trolls, Google Tries to Bypass (or Plagiarise) Sites Under the Guise of "AI"
Links for the day
Links 18/05/2024: BASIC Story, Site Feeds, and New in Geminispace
Links for the day
GNU/Linux in Kyrgyzstan: From 0.5% to 5% in Eight Years
the country is almost the size of the UK
Justice for Victims of Online Abuse
The claims asserted or pushed forth by the harasser are categorically denied
[Meme] Senior Software Engineer for Windows
This is becoming like another Novell
Links 18/05/2024: Deterioration of the Net, North Korean IT Workers in the US
Links for the day
Windows in Lebanon: Down to 12%?
latest from statCounter
[Video] 'Late Stage Capitalism': Microsoft as an Elaborate Ponzi Scheme (Faking 'Demand' While Portraying the Fraud as an Act of Generosity and Demanding Bailouts)
Being able to express or explain the facts isn't easy because of the buzzwords
Links 18/05/2024: Caledonia Emergency Powers, "UK Prosecutor's Office Went Too Far in the Assange Case"
Links for the day
Microsoft ("a Dying Megacorporation that Does Not Create") and IBM: An Era of Dying Giants With Leadership Deficits and Corporate Bailouts (Subsidies From Taxpayers)
Microsoft seems to be resorting to lots of bribes and chasing of bailouts (i.e. money from taxpayers worldwide)
US Patent and Trademark Office Sends Out a Warning to People Who Do Not Use Microsoft's Proprietary Formats
They're punishing people who wish to use open formats
Links 18/05/2024: Fury in Microsoft Over Studio Shutdowns, More Gaming Layoffs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 17, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, May 17, 2024
Links 18/05/2024: KOReader, Benben v0.5.0 Progress Update, and More
Links for the day