Even IBM joining open source

Slashdot reports that IBM, after having announced last week that they are joining OpenOffice.org by dedicating 35 developers, will be releasing a free, downloadable office suite in direct challenge to Microsoft. Named Lotus Symphony, it will be based on Open Office, include free support, and probably platform support on at least Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

Think Tank Reports on the State of Open Source

clipped from linux.slashdot.org AlexGr writes to recommend an account of a meeting a couple of months back of representatives from more than 100 software companies discussing the state of open source software. The outcome is outlined in a 16-page report, 2007 Open Source Think Tank: The Future of Commercial Open Source (PDF). Among the surprising conclusions: participants noted a growing similarity in methods between open source and proprietary software development. They predicted some kind of convergence, where the best of both approaches gets adopted in each camp.