"The open-source development model has yet to demonstrate the ability to support profitable software businesses that can drive the coordinated research and testing necessary to sustain innovation," Patterson said. "Many in the open-source software community have shifted to hybrid business models. They are making the same business decisions as any commercial software company in terms of what products and services to give away, what intellectual property to protect, how to generate revenue, and how to participate in the community."I wonder if Microsoft recognizes that the Mozilla Foundation (Firefox) with 90 employees made over $52 million dollars in revenue in 2005. I don't want to suggest that's almost $600K per open source developer but I just did. Not to mention that Firefox has pushed browser innovation further than any other company could have anticipated VIA Extensions, Themes, Dictionaries, Search Engines, and Plug-Ins - Something Microsoft claimed was not possible.
"The open-source community has actually been shifting away from hybrid models," he said, pointing to Alfresco, Funambol and MuleSource as examples. "Hybrid was yesterday's model, when people were still trying to get comfortable with the shift. Tomorrow's is 100 percent open, with 'proprietary services' on top."
Those services, Asay predicted, could be either for support, as in Red Hat's case, or as in Internet-hosed services, the kind of thing Yahoo is getting more serious about with its $350 million acquisition of open-source e-mail software maker Zimbra.
This is the way I've thought of Software recently, so I guess it's tough to take MicroSoft seriously when they seem to again be nothing more than one step behind the pack. Any how ...I actually see this as a much bigger thing than just purchasing an Ad Network. It's the type of ad network they are purchasing, and with Microsoft's portfolio of media infrastructure, this could be a eutopic deal for the seemingly evil empire.
I've blogged a ton about online media. About Yahoo! inking deals with Comcast, Viacom, and CBS to manage their digital advertising platforms. As Google is seen as the new evil empire, media companies have rallied against the giant.
Can you imagine what would happen if Microsoft actually did acquire Yahoo!. I keep blogging about the network effect, and how the amalgamation of digital media will win the war, how Joost is creating the new corporate high quality version of YouTube, and how Microsoft Silverlight is Microsoft’s platform entry into the digital media content distribution market.
Can you imagine if Microsoft acquired Yahoo! and their ad platform (ie., Yahoo!’s customer base: CBS, Viacom, Comcast …), and could present these customers with a monetization platform (Yahoo!), and a content distribution platform (Microsoft), that could reach more than just the public internet, but the private xBox Live network (which at any time of day has better ratings than the Super Bowl), and any other private delivery networks that Microsoft and it’s video customers wanted to setup. Furthermore, using .Net integration they can easily extend the application to include customized functionality.
In the ninety’s, Microsoft invested heavily in trying to reach customers with satellite TV. Gates bet a ton and invested heavily with several big American networks. They knew they could revolutionize video advertising by presenting custom video ads. This may be their final foray into that market.
While, I doubt Yahoo! would sell out to Microsoft, I have a feeling Microsoft will do everything in their power to try to buy Yahoo!, but that everything at this point is still just a rumor.
Microsoft TV anyone? I like my Joost!
