Thak makes sense, thank you!
Comment on Why do all these companies developing privatised software use the word "Open"? Real question.
fubo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Some of these names (like OpenVMS) are from before the term “open source software” was coined (which was in 1998). They refer instead to “open systems”, meaning computer systems with published specifications, interoperable hardware, portable software, etc. – things that might seem like obvious choices now, but were not in early business computing.
retiolus@lemmy.cat 11 months ago
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 11 months ago
things that might seem like obvious choices now
Not anymore.
fubo@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Even a heavily proprietary system like iOS is much more of an “open system” in this sense than old mainframes. It uses standard networking protocols, supports programming languages that have published specifications, third-party hardware exists …
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 11 months ago
Yeah, but that’s because of building upon open systems, not because of consciously following something.
995a3c3c3c3c2424@feddit.nl 11 months ago
Yeah, OpenBSD predates “open source” by a few years and some people actually found the name weird at the time because there was such a strong association with “Open” being used to mean things like “controlled by an industry consortium rather than a single company”.
lemmyvore@feddit.nl 11 months ago
There is a joke in one of the BOFH episodes (Bastard Operator from Hell for those unfamiliar, look it up if you don’t know it, it’s worth it) that went:
“So I tell him, ‘you can’t port Debian to a car computer, it’s not an open system ha ha ha ha’”
The joke was not about the car computer.
KnightontheSun@lemmy.world 11 months ago
A user called me complaining that he needed more space. I deleted half his data.