Simon Phipps
Columnist
Simon Phipps is a well-known and respected leader in the free software community, having been involved at a strategic level in some of the world's leading technology companies and open source communities. He worked with open standards in the 1980s, on the first commercial collaborative conferencing software in the 1990s, helped introduce both Java and XML at IBM and as head of open source at Sun Microsystems opened their whole software portfolio including Java. Today he's managing director of Meshed Insights Ltd and president of the Open Source Initiative and a directory of the Open Rights Group and the Document Foundation. All opinions expressed are his own.
Uproar: MariaDB Corp. veers away from open source
A new release of the MaxScale database proxy -- essential to deploying MariaDB at scale -- features a proprietary license
Microsoft loves open source? Only when it's convenient
Even as it embraces open source, Microsoft is shaking down the Android and Linux communities for patent licenses. Will the real Microsoft please stand up?
VCs who miss the point of open source shouldn't fund it
A fresh article on TechCrunch by a pair of prominent VCs exposes a worldview that refuses to recognize the real value of open source
Red Hat and Microsoft cozy up in the Azure cloud
Red Hat and Microsoft have overcome their differences enough to offer RHEL on Azure, with all the trappings to make hybrid solutions work
Sad day for developers: SCOTUS denies Google's appeal on APIs
Supreme Court's decision is bad news for developers targeting the U.S. market, who will now have to avoid any API not explicitly licensed as open
Sad day for developers: SCOTUS denies Google's appeal on APIs
Supreme Court's decision is bad news for developers targeting the U.S. market, who will now have to avoid any API not explicitly licensed as open
LibreOffice debuts in the Mac App Store
Getting an open source project into the storefront of Apple's walled garden is tough. But LibreOffice has done it, thanks to hard work from community member Collabora
Questions loom over 'open source' Swift
Apple says it will open-source the Swift language, but the issue of software freedom lingers
SourceForge commits reputational suicide
Despite seeming reformed last year, download hosting site SourceForge has been caught red-handed abusing the reputations of open source projects
Oracle v. Google: We're not screwed yet
Superficially, the Solicitor General's advice to SCOTUS to find against Google and reject its appeal looks like bad news. But there are some substantial straws to grasp
Oracle v. Google: We're not screwed yet
Superficially, the Solicitor General's advice to SCOTUS to find against Google and reject its appeal looks like bad news, but Simon Phipps says it's not over yet.