Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:00:00 GMT
Developing a business model around free and open source software (FOSS) can be a delicate balancing game. Many companies in this space opt for models in which revenue comes from sources such as services, rather than the software itself. However, the recently announced LinMin is taking a different approach with a new appliance and imaging appliance: Although it runs and works on FOSS, LinMin's software is proprietary. The company's reasons for this practice raise several core issues about the relationship between FOSS and proprietary software on one hand and business priorities on the other.