OSBC round up
It was with a bit of a heartache that I was reminded about OSBC (Open Source Business Conference) this year. I remember OSBC london in ...2004? as a 2 bit conference with 3 VCs head-bobbling in the audience wanting to hear what "professional open source" was about and a lawyer loudly snoring in the 3rd row as we passionately discussed "getting paid for free software". I was mad at the organizer for convincing me to come all the way to London for that. It has come a long way since. Long enough to become top news in the press and nostalgic.
I received calls from a bunch of old colleagues and friends. Invitations to the parties, the dinners, the conference, the panels, on the spot calls made me realize there are some things I miss. It also made me realize I had moved on. I am running my own personal hedge fund now, have you heard of it?.
From the press coverage, I picked the following:
As for me, I would have gladly faced off with IBM and Oracle too, but not my fight any more. The only way I would ever come back to the industry is as Kaiser Fucking Soze, and there's a 0.00666 chance of that ever happening.
I received calls from a bunch of old colleagues and friends. Invitations to the parties, the dinners, the conference, the panels, on the spot calls made me realize there are some things I miss. It also made me realize I had moved on. I am running my own personal hedge fund now, have you heard of it?.
From the press coverage, I picked the following:
- Ben Sabrin responding to Zurlocker on the dangers of integration. I do believe that SUN can pull this one off. All they need to do is STAY OUT OF THE WAY. Pony Tail Boy is smart enough to know he doesn't know shit about OSS or the database space (even if he pretends he does). Hopefully his vanity will take a back seat.
- Rob Bearden talking about "community is everything". Oh come on Rob! you are one of my favorite peeps out there: you don't need to pander to the "community". Your outstanding talent comes from raw intelligence, operational expertise and knowing the "community" is a salesman's worse nightmare. "Thanks for the free shit dude!"
- The crocodile tears award goes to Bob Bickel, my head of business development and by a large measure the guy responsible for the business expansion at JBoss. From the article:
I had a chance to interview Bob Bickel,and he described OSBC as “depressing.” It’s great that the big guys are using open source, he said — unless you thought open source could be something more.
Bickel’s version of success? A company that could go big by “offering IBM’s software portfolio in open source.”
As for me, I would have gladly faced off with IBM and Oracle too, but not my fight any more. The only way I would ever come back to the industry is as Kaiser Fucking Soze, and there's a 0.00666 chance of that ever happening.
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