The commentary doesn't specify, but what private sector use of OSS might be declining rapidly? Does this claim have any merit? It seems like almost all web stacks rely heavily on OSS, but coming from Oracle, I assume they could be talking about databases specifically. Would it be true to suggest use of OSS databases, e.g., MySQL, is declining?
Oracle positioning themselves against OSS is interesting, and might be telling. I would assume that a message to the govt that OSS is bad means that OSS is actually winning, and Oracle is more scared of open source than it is of other for-profit competition.
This is also in line with the government defining OSS as "commercial" software. From the government's perspective, the line isn't whether they paid money, it's more like whether the software comes with a license. http://dodcio.defense.gov/Open-Source-Software-FAQ/#Q:_Is_op...
I feel like that's where Oracle's commentary trips up a bit, because they're painting a picture of the fears of bad things that can happen when using OSS, without realizing the government already figured out that most of the implications and liabilities of any software come from the licensing, and not the dollar costs.
Oracle positioning themselves against OSS is interesting, and might be telling. I would assume that a message to the govt that OSS is bad means that OSS is actually winning, and Oracle is more scared of open source than it is of other for-profit competition.
This is also in line with the government defining OSS as "commercial" software. From the government's perspective, the line isn't whether they paid money, it's more like whether the software comes with a license. http://dodcio.defense.gov/Open-Source-Software-FAQ/#Q:_Is_op...
I feel like that's where Oracle's commentary trips up a bit, because they're painting a picture of the fears of bad things that can happen when using OSS, without realizing the government already figured out that most of the implications and liabilities of any software come from the licensing, and not the dollar costs.