Category: Spotlight

The Bugatti Principle

May 30, 2007 0

Recently Gartner warned of the open source threat to the Big Four systems management vendors, but I don’t think the current open source solutions are quite ready to take on the big four yet. Systems management just isn’t easy. People tend to treat it like electricity and only realize its value when the power is [...]

Three Reasons Microsoft Shareholders Need Open Source

May 16, 2007 0

So right after I post about what life would be like without open source, Microsoft announces plans to take on the free world. Am I a prophet or what? Just kidding. I’ve already told you why open source software isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I know folks within Microsoft’s walls who get it—obviously none of [...]

A Day Without Open Source

May 8, 2007 0

I was at a conference when two techies walked into the open bar, one an open source supporter and one staunchly anti. They got into it a bit after a few drinks, and Mr. Anti commented loudly, “I wish open source would just go away! It causes more trouble than it’s worth.” Statements I obviously [...]

Seven Reasons Microsoft Loves Open Source

April 25, 2007 0

Next week I’m leading the “Open Source, the Web, Interoperability, and Microsoft” panel at Mix07 in Vegas, my first Microsoft conference. Naturally, I’ve been pondering the topic so I don’t end up on stage with my pants around my ankles. The more I think about it, the more I think Microsoft loves open source—and not [...]

Welcome to Opensville, Population Zero

April 18, 2007 1

At conferences I’m often asked, “What is the state of open source?” I usually toss out some variation of my “Opensville” analogy. Today I thought I’d elaborate on the analogy in my first TalkBMC post. Nestled between Proprietary and Freedomberg, Opensville is a utopia. Everyone who lives in the adjacent cities spends their free time in

Self Defending Networks, Aggressive Network Self-Defense, and Vigilantes on the net

June 15, 2005 0

Today is the one-year anniversary of my interview with NewScientist magazine on what, at the time, was the highly controversial subject of “countermeasures” technologies. The interview was one of many I did with Symbiot in response to the March 2004 release of the company’s iSIMS (intelligent Security Infrastructure Management Sof