Open source comes of age, says OSS Watch conference report
Is open source software ready to cross the chasm from early adopters to mainstream use in UK colleges and universities?In April 2006, OSS Watch organised a 3-day conference in Oxford entitled ‘Open Source and Sustainability.’ The conference brought together strategic funders, open source developers and academics from around the globe.In "Crossing the Chasm: open source comes of age", Paul Anderson of Intelligent Content explores the themes that came out of the conference. As he notes:
"The fact that [this conference] was even taking place shows that OSS is growing up; trying to find its way across the innovation chasm into the mainstream, and to seek some models of permanency."
The report begins by seeking to capture what is meant by "sustainability", touching on the views of a variety of participants. It goes on to explore models of sustainability as well as the means toward developing sustainability for strategically funded open source development.
Randy Metcalfe, Manager of OSS Watch, comments:
"Paul has gone far beyond writing a mere conference report. This will be a genuine contribution to the thinking within colleges and universities in the UK on the whole issue of open source sustainability."
To access the conference report, please go to: Crossing the Chasm