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The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and funded by Google, H-P, IBM, Novell, Red Hat and others, has announced highlights from its June 13-15 Collaboration Summit held on Google’s campus. The meeting included kernel developers, distribution and system vendors, ISVs, end users and open source software (OSS) community project leaders. It was said to be an invitation-only event (which would be very un-OSS of them) but I think the only thing you needed to do to be invited was to join the LF.

Most key Linux developers are employed by the companies that fund LF. The rest of the OSS community is scattered all over the IT ecosystem. LF said that is was the first event of its kind where a cross-section of the Linux and the broader OSS communities met face-to-face. Many resulting press stories seemed to highlight industry turf battles and OSS political correctness but the group’s own press release highlighted key pieces of necessary nitty gritty.

For example:
• Representatives from the LF’s Accessibility workgroup explained the Linux model for writing accessible applications; accessibility of OSS to persons with disabilities was a key limitation with the first releases of the open document format (developed and promoted by many of the same companies sponsoring LF) and the group wants to avoid a repeat. This activity is near and dear to me because I severely tore a retina about two years ago.
• A collaborative problem solving session on device drivers was held. The session explained the Linux model and the newly formed program available for vendors where the Linux kernel community is offering all companies free Linux driver development.
• Specifically, key representatives from major printing vendors met with Linux community leaders to discuss a new Device Driver Kit that was made available to provide the tools and resources for printing manufacturers to easily support all Linux distributions with one driver package.
• Linux developers discussed the increasing need for efficient power management in Linux. As a result of these meetings, LF is organizing a “Green Linux” initiative.
• A newly created Linux Standards Base (LSB) Test Framework and Testing tools were demonstrated

This sort of cooperation is important because the OSS movement creates software differently than the software you’re used to deploying in your enterprise. Unlike with MVS and its successors and cousins, the other forks of Unix besides Linux, and Windows, with Linux and OSS the core operating software developers and utility/driver/test developers do not all work for the same company. Yet the group in general wants to avoid the forking that doomed earlier cooperative efforts around Unix such as the Open Software Foundation.

I will be holding a “Talking with…” session with Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation, next month to learn more.

Posted by dennisb in OSS Culture |Digg This|Add to del.icio.us

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