tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post112535698257895914..comments2023-10-24T11:05:25.288-04:00Comments on Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates ponder current events: OpenOffice.Org releases public beta 2Mark Rauterkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481330.post-1125683535156009572005-09-02T13:52:00.000-04:002005-09-02T13:52:00.000-04:00On 2 September 2005 Sun Microsystems announced tha...<I>On 2 September 2005 Sun Microsystems announced that it was retiring<BR/>the Sun Industry Standards Source License (SISSL), an Open Source<BR/>Initiative (OSI)-approved software license. In recent weeks, the<BR/>OSI, which authorises open-source licenses, has been discussing<BR/>limiting license proliferation, so as to make the process of choosing<BR/>a license easier for developers and companies. Sun's move is in<BR/>support of that objective.<BR/><BR/>How does this move affect OpenOffice.org? As most know,<BR/>OpenOffice.org code was launched under the dual banner of the SISSL<BR/>and LGPL; licensees could choose which one they wanted to use, and<BR/>nearly all have chosen the LGPL. Effective with the announcement<BR/>that Sun is retiring the SISSL, however, OpenOffice.org will in the<BR/>future only be licensed under the LGPL.<BR/><BR/>For users, the simplification means: no change. OpenOffice.org<BR/>remains free to use, distribute, even sell. One can freely use it in<BR/>commercial as well as government environments; nothing has changed.<BR/><BR/>For vendors, distributors, add-on and plug-in writers of<BR/>OpenOffice.org: The LGPL allows for commercial distribution without<BR/>affecting derived products in the same way as the GPL.<BR/><BR/>For developers and other contributors: As the code will be licensed<BR/>only under the LGPL, modifications to the source must be published.<BR/>(The SISSL did not require all changes to the source to be<BR/>published.) As most OpenOffice.org contributors are already openly<BR/>contributing to the community, we anticipate no problems. And for<BR/>those who have been using the SISSL exclusively, we invite you to<BR/>join us.<BR/><BR/>The OpenOffice.org Community Council<BR/><BR/>http://council.openoffice.org<BR/>http://www.openoffice.org/FAQs/license-change.html</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com