> -----Original Message----- > From: Ross Davey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Thursday, 5 January 2006 7:22 PM > To: General Practice Computing Group Talk > Subject: Re: GP Requirements - was [GPCG_TALK] Re: The Dreaming > > > > Ian Haywood wrote: > > > > I don't doubt that that you mean well, but past experience is that > > relying on a commerical operator to open-source vital > components can > > be very frustrating. (I'm thinking of Argus messanging service) > > > > Argus was eventually open-sourced, but after years of > harmful delay, > > and incompletely so. It is a special category in that the > project was > > initally funded with taxpayer's money. > > > > Ian > > > > I am concerned about your perceptions of what went on with > Argus in the > process of open sourcing, and what the status is now. > > The only reason for the delay in open sourcing was the process of > evaluating the different open source regimes and the process of > reporting back on the different regimes from legal advice. > There was no > reluctance on the part of the 'commercial providers' and the > opposite is > quite the fact. We have been the champions of moving Argus > to the open > domain and had to fight for some time to gain the full possession of > the IP to do so. The other delay was the establishment of the legal > infrastructure for the ongoing development and support etc. It was > important to get this right. > > Despite your perceptions of the open source domain, most commentators > and observers admit that Argus would not have advanced to meet the > demands in the short term the way it has if Argus had just > been thrown > without consideration into the broad open source domain without first > ensuring that there was a coordinated means of supporting it > and further > developing it. > > The open source regime that we came up with was the best that > we could > determine (and we had the assistance of recognised open source legal > expertise and advocacy) to ensure a coordinated approach to > adhering to > Standards and market demand, but also serve the open source > fraternity > and sorority. > > I would hope that you will recognise that I keep striving to > support the > open source initiatives and movements, and to this end have > been active > on the Health OpenWare Foundation to find ways that we can > continue to > do this. > > Just branding us as 'commercial operators' does us a > disservice and does > not recognise the fact that we have probably chosen the most > difficult > and tenuous path of all; ie support of principles of 'for > public good' > and openness, along with a recognition that all products need some > coordination and direction and also infrastructure to ensure it > continuation. Look at Mozilla, Open Office, LINUX etc. > > I remain disappointed that we dont get the recognition and > support from > the community that we are trying to serve.
>From memory I thought the idea was to keep the GPL'ed open source code about 6 months behind the authorised code base but looking at the CVS http://argus.healthopenware.org.au/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/ and the downloadable zip and tar.gz http://argus.healthopenware.org.au/user_area/download/argus.src.zip http://argus.healthopenware.org.au/user_area/download/argus.src.tgz No file is newer than 17 months ago (ie its first release) - that is I can see no feed in of Argus developed code into the GPL'ed version over that time. I can't find (google) any written commitment to the 6 month lag I mentioned above so the question is "Will any internally developed code be released into the GPL version at any time in the future?" (Apologies if I've missed a GPL'ed updated code base somewhere). Nigel > Also we continue to be > attacked by those really in the commercial sector as being niaive and > traitors to the commercial cause. > > Argus may still yet be the best shining example of what can > be done with > some business acumen combined with a regard for public good and > openness. I hope it does; and it wont fail due to my not > putting in the > best effort that I can at the twilight of my career. The > same goes for > the rest of the Argus team that should credit for their > dedication and > holding to a cause that sometimes seems unwinable. > > regards > Ross Davey > > _______________________________________________ > Gpcg_talk mailing list > [email protected] > http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk > _______________________________________________ Gpcg_talk mailing list [email protected] http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk
