SIDEBAR: Sources on Open Source
In PrintThe Success of Open Source
By Steven Weber
Open source from a political scientist's point of view, with plenty of history and educated conjecture about the place of open source in software development and life in general.
Succeeding with Open Source
By Bernard Golden
Primarily aimed at software vendors considering the open-source way of life, Golden has advice for any company considering open-source projects.
Open Source Licensing
By Lawrence Rosen
Down-to-earth legal advice on dealing with open-source licences from an acknowledged expert in the field.
On the Web
Open Source Initiative
The starting place for all things open source. Includes definitions, approved licences, news and a mailing list.
Freshmeat
"The Web's largest index of Unix and cross-platform software, themes and related 'eye-candy', and Palm OS software," according to the literature. While not all of its content is open source, the Freshmeat folks prefer that products be released that way.
SourceForge.net
Tens of thousands of open-source projects, all in one place. Search for free, start your own project, or join and get access to extra features such as project monitoring, which lets you know whenever changes take place in a particular project.
Open Source Risk Management
Buy some peace of mind with its indemnification services, or have its consultants give you an evaluation of the risks you face from your open-source efforts.
OSDir
A site and application directory dedicated to mature open source. As they say: "OSDir only lists sufficiently developed and stable open-source applications that are ready for deployment."
SIDEBAR: Open Law
Don't forget to run it by your lawyers first
Even If you get your open source from one of the "safer" alternatives, be sure to get a legal review. The Open Source Initiative (OSI), the non-profit group charged with promoting open source, currently recognizes more than 50 open-source licensing models, each with its own nuances and potential gotchas. And Black Duck Software, which provides intellectual property management systems for open-source and commercial software users, says it has found another 300-plus licences outside the OSI's list. The key is to actually read the things, and then let your corporate lawyers do the same.
"You have to decide what licence terms you're comfortable with, and be prepared to tell [your lawyers] that 'none' is the wrong answer," says Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation.
But former OSI general counsel Lawrence Rosen says he hopes for a day when licences get winnowed down to a reasonable selection to cover most needs. "At some point, they will realize that their software won't be adopted if it requires the analysis by their customers of yet another licence with only subtle differences from those already approved," Rosen says.
Users can also seek other protections. Vendors are increasingly providing indemnification for their open-source customers. You can purchase indemnification from Open Source Risk Management (OSRM), a group that also offers open-source risk consulting services.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.