I doubt much will change. But I speak for neither company. IIRC IBM and Redhat in recent years past, had been the top contributors t the Linux Kernel. Also IBM owned a fairly large stake in Redhat prior to this, or did at one point. >From a Redhat Presentation at VTUG's (VMware basically) Summer Slam in 2017, they claimed to own approximately 70% of the commercial Linux market. That is Linux distributions with paid subscriptions or licenses.
But you never know what the future may bring. A bit of Trivia: The nickname for IBM's lawyers is "The Nazgul" as they are relentlessly loyal to their master, and never sleep... Keith Deterling [email protected] Advisory IT Specialist IBM Systems - MFG IT Infrastructure Services Essex, Junction, VT 05242 – Bldg. 975 – 2K0521 Tie-Line 8-446-3535 or (802) 769-3535 Pager 802-350-8771, [email protected] From: Paul Flint <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Date: 11/08/2018 09:26 AM Subject: Just a thought... Sent by: Vermont Area Group of Unix Enthusiasts <[email protected]> Good Morning List Lurkers, Just an idle thought, on what will likely cancel my Christmas Card from Pookeepsie or Endicott... IBM has just purchased a second open source project. It is fascinating research to see what IBM did decades ago when they gained control of their first open source project... In 1989 Melinda Varian writes ( http://www.leeandmelindavarian.com/Melinda/25paper.pdf ) about IBM and it's eventual hegemony over the VM distribution tape and the lucrative licensing which, to my mind handsomely paid for assured operational IBM technical support at VM installations. A quick quote from Page 37 of Melinda's description: "These tapes of tools, modifications, utilities, cookbooks, etc., were contributed by VM people around the world and became vital to installations getting started in VM.." It is my considered opinion and belief; a feeling that seems to be substantiated by Melinda's Papers that VM CP/CMS started as an open source project and, during the turbulence and innovation of the 80's, IBM "closed" the VM "Waterloo Tape" at VM/370. Note that VM licensing, while a really great business and revenue decision on the part of IBM, has lingered as a barrier to VM research, development and training. IBM licensing VM has always been an annoyance to me personally in my own non-commercial attempts to develop proficiency in CP and CMS. Probably why I spend so much time singing the blues about Bash. OK, given that the past is prelude, when do you think that the new IBM management at Red Hat will close Red Hat source... Keep in mind that this thought involves a lot of lawyers, and very few programmers! Help me better understand this. Kindest Regards, ☮ Paul Flint (802) 479-2360 Home (802) 595-9365 Cell /************************************ Based upon email reliability concerns, please send an acknowledgement in response to this note. Paul Flint 17 Averill Street Barre, VT 05641
