The excellent unofficial Apache podcast site Feathercast has a podcast of me talking about Apache's open letter to Sun.
I tried to provide background and some detailed explanations of the situation surrounding this letter, including discussion about the "Field of Use" limitations, why the ASF thinks the offered license doesn't comply with the JSPA, and the implications for the JCP and Java as an open ecosystem.
I think it's worth the listen :)
Today, the Apache Software Foundation sent an open letter to Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems, regarding the ASF's inability to acquire an acceptable TCK license for the Java SE TCK (also called the "JCK") in over 7 months of trying.
For more information, there is also a FAQ available.
Update : Links :
I saw an interesting blog post from Bob Sutor, Vice President of Second Life ;) at IBM regarding the new [broken] GPLv3 draft - he claims IBM is "pretty satisfied with where we are". That's odd. The big bug in the current draft is the surprise "not compatible with the Apache License" sucker punch from Mr Stallman, and that doesn't get even a mention from Bob. Either IBM *wants* to keep the GPL and AL incompatible, doesn't care, or Bob isn't paying attention. Which is it?
Catching up on things on the flight home from Leiden - Tech Centraal for Joost (look, a Dutch word! used properly!) - I saw that my new job was mentioned by A-list analyst and Real Smart Guy James Governor on a link collection on his blog.
His comment was interesting :
who would have thought Geir wanted to get rich quick? congratulations man.
Thanks James, but this made me think....
First, who wouldn't want to get rich quick? "No thanks... think of the tax bill...." I have no clue if I'm going to get rich quick at Joost - that's not why I did it - but I promise not to argue if someone decide to hand me a big check.
Second, why would James be surprised? This is my 4th real startup (the prior ones have either achieved positive cash flow and profitability or resulted in an acquisition), and my passion for open source and open standards isn't in conflict with whatever drives me to do things like Joost (disruptive business model? great people to work with? novel and innovative technology challenges? an opportunity for financial reward?)
After all, "open" is different than "Free"*
* "Free" is a service mark of the FSF and is should not be confused with the English word "free". After accepting Freedom, be aware that some pre-existing rights may not be available. Your mileage may vary. The FSF reserves the right to substitute existing rights with rights of equal or different value at any time. Any prior statements made about intended compatibility should be considered as advisory. Do not operate heavy machinery when under the influence of Freedom. Do not taunt Freedom in an enclosed area. Keep out of reach of children.
I'm happy to announce I have a new job, as a VP of Engineering at Joost, an amazing new startup that is working to change what we now quaintly refer to as "television" through the secure delivery of mainstream, legitimately-licensed content over the internet. Founded by the same two entrepreneurs that created Skype and Kazaa, and staffed by an amazing amount of stunningly smart people I've known for years in the pragmatic open source community ;), I'm lucky to be able to be involved in such an interesting and disruptive transformation of what has become such a fundamental human activity.
At Intel (for those just tuning in, that was where I was working), I learned an incredible amount about how things work on the mega-scale - it's an amazing organization, and I'm glad I was able to spend some time there. But this new opportunity was just too good, too exciting, too terrifying :) to pass up - I'm an entrepreneur and builder at heart. There are so many people I ought to thank at Intel, but I'd like to give special mention to a person assigned to me as my "Intel buddy" when I first arrived, a friend named Tony Baker that I had known from the JCP EC. We worked together as peers in first the Managed Runtime Division, and then (after The Small Reorg) the Middleware Products Division, and then (after The Big Reorg) stayed connected (almost daily) when he went off to bigger and better things in the Systems Software Division. His guidance and advice (learned after 25 years (!) at Intel) was always valuable and insightful, and I really am grateful for it.
This change in employment has no bearing on my dedication and passion for Apache Harmony - in fact, I think it becomes something more special for me, as there's no part of my job description now that has the word "Harmony" in it, and after some introspection, I like that. While the downside is that the time I can devote to Harmony is reduced, I think that in itself will make my contributions that much more focused, and hopefully as or even more effective. The upside, of course, is a fresh perspective on the community and ecosystem. I'm a big fan of true "open community" open source. It's clear that the old school "community OSS model" is giving way to the new school "supported contributor OSS model", but I still think these are aspects orthogonal to the basic control scheme of a project, and Apache is fundamentally about individuals working together as peers, no matter what their motivation or employer. When we started Harmony, it was a passion and a labor of love for me, not a part of my job, and I honestly never really imagined that I'd find it part of my job - and here I am, back full circle. Of course, being "back full circle" with Harmony at 96% percent completion in the class library with a capable and performant virtual machine is a great place to be.
Anyway, a new chapter with new challenges, opportunities, and growth. Wish me well :)
