It is not long now until the first Open Source Grid and Cluster Conference, to be held in Oakland, California from 13-15 May 2008. This upcoming event got me thinking about the role of open source in grid and cluster computing, in the past, present, and future.

For those who follow the development of Linux and the companies that have a heavy exposure to the operating code, you will surely have come across Red Hat. This company is one of the largest developers and distributors of Linux based systems and at the forefront of many developments over the years. So how large is Red Hat?

So my question is simple: Who is the open source big dog? The answer to the question as stated is likely IBM. You're welcome Savio. :-) IBM, of course, benefits nicely from its investments in Apache and Eclipse and has done a lot to make Linux what it is today. But IBM is not betting the farm on open source, so let me tweak my question to be: Who is the open source [as a business] big dog?

Last week I got a press release about a new utility called Paragon Rescue Kit for Mac OS X Lite. It described a Mac backup and data recovery program, now in public beta testing, and invited potential testers to download a bootable disk image that could be burned to a CD and try the software out.

Last month we reported on VIA's new open-source driver efforts that was announced at the LF Austin Summit. This new strategy involves VIA providing the open-source community with NDA-free hardware specifications, code, and other resources -- in a similar fashion to what ATI/AMD and Intel have been doing for some time now.

Recently I've taken note of the rise in friction between those who want to create open source software for its own sake and those who want to evolve open source software into something that can be used for commerce.

I propose that Product Management should take a more active role in FOSS, not telling the developers what users need, but teamingwith developers to identify the target audience and prioritize the users needs. If developers can donate their time working on these projects there is no reason Product Managers can’t do the same thing.

Kerala is all set to become the first state in the country to completely banish Microsoft and allow only GNU/Linux free software to be used in the mandatory IT test at the state SSLC examinations that half a million students took in March. Till last year, they could take the exam using either free software or the Microsoft platform. Not anymore'.