Re: [Evolution] Ximian Connector?

[Mike Sangrey <msangrey BlueFeltHat org>]

On Tue, 2001-12-04 at 01:02, Ibukun Okitika wrote:
>  
> The thing is, in a perfect world, Richard Stallman would be in good
> terms with every Tom, Dick and Harry in the corporate world. Of course
> that's a ridiculous thought. I was reading the article on The Register
> about this, and I thought it was generally an excellent business
> decision by Ximian. I've seen enough bankruptcies and depressing
> economic news (add to that the general mass failures of open source
> companies like VA) to know that a GPL'ed company cannot survive in
> today's economy. Ximian must make money, and they've decided to go about
> it in the best way possible. I think any reasonable person should be
> supportive of them in this decision.

Well said.

To my mind, the central hub which makes or breaks an open source company
is its focus on the very nature of service.  If a business seeks to
redefine service in terms of control, then that business practice is
unethical.  However, if the business takes a posture of serving, of
enabling, of fostering the success of individuals and other
organizations, then that company is doing the right thing.  It's a
tenuous balance between the right to get paid for the work performed and
the focus on serving others.  But, properly handling that tension will
make an open source company succeed.  A smart company will be very
sensitive to how its customers (and its competitor's customers) perceive
whether it is serving or controlling. 

IMO, the Ximian connector is a step in the right direction.  The problem
is that Microsoft positioned Exchange as a means of control.  The trick
for any company that fights in that space is going to be to break the
control without itself projecting a desire to control nor simply
feigning a service attitude.  It will be very interesting to see (and
watch) how Ximian maintains its integrity while performing this
extremely difficult task.

Well, that's my opinion.

Ximian, I'm cheer'n for ya.

-- 
Mike Sangrey
msangrey BlueFeltHat org
Landisburg, Pa.
                        "The first one last wins."
            "A net of highly cohesive details reveals the truth."