Biggest Open Source Stories of 2008

Well, as we finally wind down the year it’s time to look back and take stock of the most important and interesting stories in enterprise technology. Let’s start with open source. And with that, here’s probably the best review I’ve seen: “The year 2008 showed open source–both in the form of Linux specifically and as a software development model generally–coming into the mainstream like never before.” So, on with the top ten list:

1. The Rise (and Falling Price) of the Netbook–Linux comes of age, driving down the cost and the perception that you need a full-blown notebook to get work done. MacBook? I don’t need no stinking MacBook. (Okay, I own one an love it, but still..)
2. Sun’s Slow Spiraling Towards Nova–Relentlessly pursuing an open source strategy, reaching its culmination (so far) with the acquisition of MySQL. It should be quite a year ahead, no matter how you look at it.
3. The Release of Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10–With Canonical’s latest Ubuntu release and Red Hat’s newest revision of Fedora, I’ll agree with the consensus that this past year was the “long-vaunted year of the Linux desktop.”
4. The Release of Google Chrome–Minimal design, built for speed, safety, and security. What’s not to like? And this isn’t even version 1.0. Okay, it’s Windows-only. For now…
5. The Release of Google Android–Mobile Linux. Google. Enough said.
6. Nokia Picks Up Symbian–Unless, of course, you’re talking about this combo. The handset makers seem very interested in this pairing. It’s Iron Chef Android versus Iron Chef Symbian. Can’t wait to see what Google and Nokia cook up for 2009.
7. Courts Rule that Copyrights on Open Source Software are Enforceable–The decision makes “it clear that not upholding the provisions of an open source license is an infringement of the original code creator’s copyrights.” A legal precedent is set.
8. Omitted by choice.
9. Debian’s OpenSSL Blunder–A major security bug is found. Then it’s found to have existed since 2006. It gets fixed. The moral: “ Many eyes may make bugs shallow, but they also need to be open and looking in the right direction first.”
10. SCO Loses to Novell–Finally, it’s looks over for SCO as it’s three most critical claims are “dismissed with prejudice“.