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The Daily Mink - All the Mink, All The Time, via Syndication

☆ ebooks – You Can’t Take Them With You…

Digital books are loaned, not sold, so why aren’t they described that way? There’s a big market for digital books, but I think they’re being sold badly, almost to the point of dishonesty. I think it’s time the way their vendors talk about them was changed.

First some illustrations:

My father just finished reading an e-book and was asking me how he could now pass it on to his nephew. He called to ask how, assuming there had to be an easy way. But there’s no way he can do it without paying for it again (and even then he will find buying an e-book for someone else challenging).
When my wife and I go on holiday, we often like to read the same books. With paper books it’s pretty easy; all we have to do is use two different bookmarks and make sure we’ve a choice of books so we don’t have to argue about who gets to read! But with e-books, that’s not possible. We either have to share the same e-book account, or we have to buy the book twice.
Our family are all huge fans of Neil Gaiman‘s Sandman series and of Terry Pratchett‘s Discworld books. We have a complete library of them in the house and everyone who lives here (and a few regular guests!) eagerly read and re-read them. If we had bought e-book versions, none of this would be possible (and the fan-base for both authors would be smaller as we’ve hooked several with strategic book loans).
More than that, some of our books will definitely be bequeathed to our children sooner or (hopefully) later. We’re sure they will want to share some of those with their own children too. Some of the books here are transient but some are definitely here to stay.

Pros and Cons

Personally I have purchased very few e-books. They are usually priced near the cost of the physical book, yet come with few of the benefits. I do understand their attraction though – we have several Kindles in the family and I’ve used them on holiday. There are some compelling capabilities that aren’t present in the ink-on-paper book.

One is the ability to read using the device I happen to have with me (at least in Amazon’s case – Apple only support their own devices so there’s no Android or web readers for their books). Another is the ability to make marginal notes in the book that are non-destructive and reusable. But there are significant down-sides as well. For example, I can’t share e-books with others; I can’t pass them on; I can’t re-sell them; I can’t bequeath them.

e-books as library

There’s another source of books our house uses like this. It’s the public library. Even the books I get there are more shareable than e-books, but the serial use pattern of the public library seems to me a better analogy for the usage I’m able to gain from e-books. In addition, the rights I have to an e-book are closer to those I have to a library book than to one I have purchased. For example, Amazon’s Kindle store does not sell me a book; rather, it gives me a perpetual right to borrow it for personal use, a right they can revoke at will but which I can reasonably assume I’ll be able to exercise when I want to read the book again.

If the e-book stores had framed their business as a super digital lending library (with prices to match) I might be an avid customer by now. Instead, by saying I am buying the book, and charging prices that are a delta on the cover price rather than a delta on the cost of a lending library, they draw my attention increasingly to all the things I can’t do – lend, share, resell, bequeath – and I usually order the paper version. Perhaps it’s time for some reframing? Maybe for app stores too?

[First published on ComputerWorldUK]

(From Wild Mink on Mon Jan 30 09:35:52 GMT 2012)

☆ Mozilla peut-elle apporter l’unité à l’open-source ?

La nouvelle licence open-source de Mozilla est bien plus qu’un simple ravalement de façade. Elle pourrait créer de nouvelles possibilités pour l’unité de la communauté du Libre.

La première semaine de janvier 2012 marque un jalon discret mais important dans le mouvement de l’open-source, grâce à la publication d’une deuxième version de la Mozilla Public License (MPLv2) et sa validation en tant que licence libre officielle. Quand bien même beaucoup n’y voient qu’un énième détail juridique, cette publication est importante à deux titres : le procédé par lequel on l’a élaborée, et l’objectif pour lequel on l’a créée. Il s’agit d’une licence qui a pour but l’unité.

Rédaction et révision de cette licence se sont déroulées selon un processus très ouvert, dans lequel Luis Villa a joué un rôle prépondérant. Organisé en majeure partie dans des forums publics, le débat a conduit à de nombreuses modifications du texte. Luis est entré en contact très tôt avec l’Open Source Initiative, a accepté les retours du groupe de révision des licences, puis obtenu sans mal l’approbation du conseil d’administration.

D’autres articles sur cette nouvelle licence se sont concentrés sur les modifications de la partie « patent peace » (NdT: la paix des brevets) et autres ajustements des clauses (adieu, Netscape !), mais le changement le plus important apporté par la version 2 de la licence Mozilla est à mon sens l’inclusion d’une compatibilité particulière avec la GPL (GNU General Public License). Par le passé, le projet Mozilla jonglait avec un système complexe et peu clair de triple licence afin de composer avec les univers des licences copyleft et non copyleft. De manière générale, les autres utilisateurs de la MPL (et ses nombreux clones rebaptisés) ne prenaient pas cette peine, et par conséquent certains codebases se sont retrouvés exclus de toute collaboration possible avec l’immense univers des logiciels placés sous licence GPL.

Selon un procédé inédit que la Commission européenne a inauguré pour la licence publique de l’Union européenne (EUPL), la MPLv2 inclut des clauses permettant à un projet de stipuler, de façon optionnelle et explicite, sa compatibilité avec d’autres licences, en particulier celles de la famille GPL. À mes yeux, la MPLv2 représente une mise à jour d’envergure de la famille précédente des v1.x, justement grâce à cette compatibilité explicite avec la GPL, laquelle offre pour la première fois une passerelle praticable entre les paradigmes permissifs et copyleft. Elle ne satisfera pas les puristes des deux mondes, mais propose avec pragmatisme une nouvelle solution aux projets open-source appuyés par des entreprises. Celles-ci pourront disposer d’une communauté qui produit du code sous licence permissive tout en fournissant à cette même communauté un moyen d’entretenir des relations avec d’autres communautés travaillant sur du code sous licence copyleft.

Avec le déclin continu du business model de la double licence (ce que d’aucuns nomment « exceptions commerciales au copyleft »), il devient de plus en plus évident que les licences permissives sont importantes pour les entreprises commerciales qui contribuent à l’open-source. De la même façon, l’écosystème GPL ne disparaîtra pas, aussi les conceptions qui reposent sur une opposition idéologique – y compris celles qui prônent l’élimination de tout code sous GPL – sont néfastes pour toutes les entreprises.

Je salue l’arrivée de la MPLv2, un pas en avant vers l’unification de la cause commune de nombreux développeurs open-source. Bravo, Mozilla !

[Traduction par/Translation by Rico Moro - thanks! The original article was posted to ComputerWorldUK]

(From Wild Mink on Sat Jan 28 11:13:05 GMT 2012)

☝ Insecurity By Obscurity

I was so shocked by the way Symantec has left its customers to twist in the wind for five years I had to write down some serious questions about their pcAnywhere advisory this week. Read them on ComputerWorldUK.

(From Wild Mink on Fri Jan 27 23:03:59 GMT 2012)

Insecurity By Obscurity

This week saw a surprising and shocking announcement by Symantec. According to ComputerWorld's Gregg Keizer: Symantec this week took the highly unusual step of telling...

(From Simon Says... on Fri Jan 27 22:46:33 GMT 2012)

☆ OSI Reform at FOSDEM

I was interviewed about my upcoming FOSDEM keynote and gave this concise summary of the background to the changes I’m working on with the Board of the Open Source Initiative.

Why exactly did OSI decide to reorganize its governance from a board-only organization into a member-based structure? How will this new governance allow OSI to address its mission better?

As you’ll read at its website, “the Open Source Initiative is a non-profit corporation with global scope formed in 1998 to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source and to build bridges among different constituencies in the open source community.” Despite the breadth of that mission, it has focussed almost exclusively on approval of licenses as compliant with the Open Source Definition. The Board felt that it was time to return to that initial mission and work on the broader goals too.

We hope that as a consequence of the switch to a member organisation, OSI will be able to educate, advocate and build bridges as well as continuing as a “standards body for licenses”. Our success opposing CPTN’s attempt to buy Novell’s patents (among other things we did in 2011) has given a hint of the force that could be unleashed for software freedom by having a neutral and uniting venue for education and advocacy.

Come along at noon on February 4th for more.

(From Wild Mink on Thu Jan 26 10:19:07 GMT 2012)

☝ Back To The Library?

There’s a big market for digital books, but I think they’re being sold badly. If eBooks were sold as library loans, maybe I’d like them more – I explain more in my article today on ComputerWorldUK.

(From Wild Mink on Wed Jan 25 15:40:21 GMT 2012)

e-books: You Can't Take It With You

There's a big market for digital books, but I think they're being sold badly, almost to the point of dishonesty. I think it's time the...

(From Simon Says... on Wed Jan 25 15:22:49 GMT 2012)

☂ People’s Choice?

My postings from here and ComputerWorldUK are often reposted at opensource.com by the folk at Red Hat who run the site. They are once again running a “People’s Choice” ballot for all there usual authors, and I’d be rather pleased to get a good score so do please go other and vote for me! Thanks!

(From Wild Mink on Tue Jan 24 19:55:27 GMT 2012)

☂ Blast from the past

I found I still had a blog on java.net, so I’ve posted a quick note about FOSDEM there!

(From Wild Mink on Mon Jan 23 22:12:28 GMT 2012)

Blast from the past

It's been two years since I posted here last, but life has been busy with open source all the same. Having helped a startup with their open source thinking, I'm now independent again and contributing much of my time to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and to The Document Foundation (TDF), as well as offering open source policy and practice consulting.

That first association with OSI is taking me to FOSDEM in Brussels, Belgium for the weekend of February 3-5 to deliver a keynote on their behalf. I've written in more detail why FOSDEM is a must-attend open source event, but I wanted to alert friends in the Java community to the splendid agenda the Free Java Devroom has to offer. The agenda includes Oracle staff such as Mark Reinhold, Dalibor Topić and Edvard Wendelin, Mike Milinkovic from Eclipse, Stephen O'Grady from RedMonk and real free software hackers like Mario Torre and Andrew Haley. Those latter hackers, by the way, are among the people to whom we owe the existence of OpenJDK, so it's good to value them highly!

I'll be spending some of my time in the Free Java, LibreOffice and Legal Issues Devrooms, so say hi if you visit any of them (or, indeed, my keynote!)

(From Java Mink on Mon Jan 23 20:19:29 GMT 2012)

☆ Wild Again

I am no longer associated in any way with ForgeRock AS. With my renewed independence, I’ve a new startup activity I’m exploring, and I’m open for consulting, speaking and writing engagements during those explorations. Do please get in touch if you have any need of open source policy, process and community consulting.

(From Wild Mink on Sat Jan 21 09:32:20 GMT 2012)

☆ “Get back on the couch and stop creating and sharing…”

This TED video from Clay Shirky is a clear, accessible and compelling explanation of what’s wrong with SOPA and PIPA and why the fight won’t be over if we either defeat them (another bill will be proposed) or neuter them and they become law (that’s just what happened before and these bills still happen). Do watch, it’s 14 minutes well spent.

(From Wild Mink on Fri Jan 20 10:28:45 GMT 2012)

☝ SOPA, PIPA and Open Source

SOPA and PIPA, the poorly-conceived draft legislation currently being considered in the USA, sparked a worldwide protest yesterday. I think they would also be bad for open source, and I explain why over on ComputerWorldUK.

(From Wild Mink on Thu Jan 19 20:21:41 GMT 2012)

Why SOPA and PIPA are bad for open source

The widespread internet blackout yesterday in protest at unbalanced legislation being rushed through the US Congress was dramatic and notable. I did have some questions...

(From Simon Says... on Thu Jan 19 20:13:53 GMT 2012)

Coming to FOSDEM?

One of the most important events of the year for Europe's open source software developers is the Free and Open Source Developers' European Meeting -...

(From Simon Says... on Tue Jan 10 09:00:00 GMT 2012)

Can Mozilla Unify Open Source?

This week saw a quiet landmark in the history of the open source movement with the formal release of version two of the Mozilla Public...

(From Simon Says... on Fri Jan 06 17:46:28 GMT 2012)

Governing By Consent

The news in the UK on Boxing Day (Dec 26) - traditionally the day when country folk go hunting foxes - cast an interesting light...

(From Simon Says... on Tue Jan 03 13:17:41 GMT 2012)

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Stuck for a Christmas gift for someone you love? Why not give them the gift of software freedom? Go grab a CD image of some...

(From Simon Says... on Sat Dec 24 14:30:59 GMT 2011)

Why Java Isn't Dead On Ubuntu

There has been a certain amount of upset finally surfacing as a result of the decision Oracle took over the summer to discontinue packaging Java...

(From Simon Says... on Wed Dec 21 12:28:05 GMT 2011)

The New Digital Divides

The EU is worried that too many people have no internet access, and that's a valid concern that does indeed need attention. But it doesn't...

(From Simon Says... on Wed Dec 14 23:43:24 GMT 2011)

Open Source Trust Abused

The matter has been a unhealed wound for more than six months, but this week the problem that C|Net's Download.Com website has been perpetrating leapt...

(From Simon Says... on Fri Dec 09 18:30:00 GMT 2011)

Koha and Why We Need Foundations

A debate is raging around the value of non-profit Foundations to open source. In the face of well-informed criticism by Mike Rogers of Apache's reluctance...