__/ [Mark Kent] on Monday 12 September 2005 17:16 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> rapskat <rapskat@xxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>
>> Google is turning out to be yet another deadbeat leech IMHO. They profit
>> big off of Linux/OSS, but they are nowhere to be found when it comes to
>> contributing back in any significant manner.
>>
>
> I think you could be significantly misinformed here - try this:
Thank you for posting that article. It has a great level of impact, at least
in my personal opinion.
> http://blog.kowalczyk.info/archives/2005/01/02/google-saga-episode-205/
>
> Jan 02, 2005
>
> Google saga - episode 205
>
> Google's Chris DiBona sent me this e-mail, which I post verbatim:
>
> If you did follow apache or the linux kernel closely, you'd see
> googlers posting patches. That is why I called you lazy for not
> noticing this. I'm not really interested in outing engineers
> as working for google, but I know of at least 4 people in the
> linux credits file who work for us (with signifigant work,
> not for small things). These projects are not difficult to find.
>
> I also think that Greg Stein wouldn't mind being `outed' as a
> googler. (Greg is the Chair of the Apache Software Foundation
> and is the co-developer of subversion and a great amount of code
> for apache) The open source world is quite large, I don't expect
> you to know everyone in it. But if you plan on accusing us of
> parasitism....then you should do further research into our role.
>
> <SNIP>
Good point, I guess. As stated below, many bloggers are driven by emotion,
not facts. Admittedly, I too follow my personal inclinations and am often
very subjective.
> An occuring theme in bloggers vs. journalists wars is lack of
> profesionallism on the part of bloggers. I'm going to do my part
> in raising the bar among bloggers by doing some fact-checking.
>
> I can't fact-check Google's contribution to Linux kernel, because,
> as I understand it, 4 people involved prefer to remain anonymous.
To be brutally honest, it is easier to remain anonymous when one gets paid
for the job. Bravery it might be when a person does work for free and gets
no recognition either.
> [63]Greg Stein is indeed an established open source persona,
> ex-Microsoft and ex-collabnet employee, now working at
> Google. Judging by [64]mailing list postings for 2004, he is
> still actively involved in Apache project, both in his role as
> the Chair of Apache Foundation and ocasionally as a developer.
64 a year is not a lot. I unleash 64 public postings in about 2 days.
[Mark Kent]
> So, I think you might be mistaken on google's role. I think they prefer
> to appear neutral (considering Microsoft's well deserved reputation for
> agressive and illegal business activities, this is probably sensible
> self-defence).
As I said in my other message, as soon as balance changes, Google can more
safely expose their support for Open Source software and evangelise Linux
< http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2005/08/11/google-and-linux/ > as
they have recently done. For the sake of their prosperity, or even
survival, it is perhaps safer to keep the cat in the sack.
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "World ends in five minutes - please log out"
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE Linux | PGP-Key: 74572E8E
5:35pm up 18 days 12:41, 3 users, load average: 0.45, 0.55, 0.58
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