R e ce ntl
y a Carl
e ton U nive rsity stu d e nt
ask e d h is profe ssor "h ow do you m ak e
m one y from ope n sou rce ?" An e xce l
l
e nt
q u e stion for w h ich th e re is no sh ort
answ e r. If anyth ing, it appe ars to l
e ad to a
conu ndru m :
are n't
th e
m otivators
b e h ind
ope n
sou rce
diam e trical
l
y
oppose d to th ose th at drive b u sine ss? D ig
de e pe r and you 'l
l
find th at ope n sou rce
and b u sine ss h ave m u ch to gain from
e ach oth e r. Th e difficu l
ty is finding
accu rate inform ation from th ose w h o
u nde rstand b oth th e b u sine ss and ope n
sou rce e nvironm e nts.
Th e Ope n Sou rce Bu sine ss R e sou rce
prom ote s an ope n dial
og on th e issu e s
invol
ve d w ith m ak ing m one y from ope n
sou rce . It is an opportu nity for th ose w h o
w ish to l
e arn m ore ab ou t th e b u sine ss of
ope n sou rce to b e ne fit from th e
e xpe rie nce of th ose w h o h ave al
re ady
stu die d th e su cce ss factors and from
th ose w h o h ave su cce ssfu l
l
y inte grate d
ope n sou rce into th e ir b u sine ss strate gy.
Th e O SBR :
-- h e l
ps cre ate th e righ t e nvironm e nt for
com panie s to com m e rcial
iz e goods
and se rvice s b ase d on ope n sou rce
asse ts
-- re m ove s b arrie rs to th e com m e rcial
-
iz ation of ope n sou rce asse ts
-- su rface s th e ope n sou rce re l
ate d
activity th at is going on in com panie s,
u nive rsitie s and gove rnm e nts and k nits
it toge th e r as a coh e sive story th at w e
can tak e to th e w orl
d
-- w il
l
e vol
ve to satisfy th e ne e ds of
com panie s th at u se ope n sou rce to
com pe te
Initial
l
y, th e scope of th e O SBR w il
l
b e
th e province of O ntario, th e n Canada,
and e ve ntu al
l
y th e w orl
d.
W e b e gin b y introd u cing ou rse l
ve s and
som e of th e initiative s th at are occu rring
in th e O ttaw a are a. Th e fe atu re articl
e
su m m ariz e s th e col
l
ab orative re se arch
b e tw e e n Norte l
and Carl
e ton U nive rsity
th at e xam ine d th e m atu rity stage s a b u si-
ne ss goe s th rou gh as it cre ate s an e cosys-
te m arou nd an ope n sou rce com m u nity.
Additional
articl
e s focu s on th e Ecl
ipse
e cosyste m , th e Tal
e nt First Ne tw ork , th e
O ntario
Re se arch
Com m e rcial
iz ation
Program , and th e m u l
tipl
e dim e nsions of
softw are l
ice nse s. In addition, th e Ju l
y
issu e de scrib e s tw o e xciting ope n sou rce
proje cts, and provide s ne w s, l
ink s to
ope n e du cational
re sou rce s, inform ation
on u pcom ing e ve nts, and answ e rs to
q u e stions re ce ive d.
W e w ant to h e ar from you ! Le t u s k now
w h at you are doing w ith ope n sou rce and
th e l
e ssons you h ave l
e arne d. Sh are th e
re sou rce s w h ich w e re m ost u se fu l
to you .
Su gge st th e m e s for fu tu re discu ssion. Ask
q u e stions
you
w ou l
d
l
ik e
to
se e
answ e re d. Su b m it e ve nts and ne w s ite m s.
Em ail
you r su b m ission to th e
You 'l
l
find form atting gu ide l
ine s in th e
se ction to assist you in you r
su b m ission.
Th e re is an e xciting l
ine u p of th e m e s for
fu tu re e ditions of th e O SBR . Be su re to
ch e ck ou t th e Editorial
Th e m e s on th e
l
ast page .
Visit th e
O SBR
w e b site to su b scrib e to an
e m ail
or R SS notification w h e n ne w
ve rsions of th e O SBR b e com e avail
ab l
e .
D ru Lavigne is a te ch nical
w rite r and IT con-
su l
tant w h o h as b e e n active w ith ope n sou rce
com m u nitie s since th e m id - 19 9 0s. Sh e w rite s
re gu l
arl
y for O 'Re il
l
y and D NSStu ff.com and
is au th or of th e b ook s BSD H ack s and Th e
Be st of Fre e BSD Basics.
Editorial
3
