Open Source @ openBC: How, Why, and Where To?: Bill Liao

• open = open networking
• openBC was cah-flow positive after 90 days
• horizontal scaling model
• 1.5 M users today, 10 M planned for 2007
• 225 M pageviews / month, 86 pageviews / second
• 16 languages
• openBC has outsourced its development to Epublica
• usage of open source software:

• back and front end, support, development, testing
• LAMP, memcached, fastCGI, lighthttpd, clamAV
• debian linux, apache, mySQL, perl, java, FOP, cvs, nagios

• donations, paid for services
• developers are making OS contributions
• openBC is adopting Ruby on Rails and will release framework code

• essentially a security issue, they have invested a lot in user data security

Have a look at my contact page in OpenBC.

Cross-posted on the ecenter solutions blog.

Open Source 2.0: Tim O’Reilly

Very good and interesting presention of Tim O’Reilly. Disturbing in a way, because he is already two steps ahead.

Some notes:

• The 5 characteristics of Open Source 2.0:
1. architectures of participation beyond software development (web 2.0)
2. open source licenses are obsolete
• software is rather performed than distributed
• not just source code, but also data/database
3. asymmetric competition
• craiglist, top sites on internet 2005 – rank 7, with 18 employees
4. operations as advantage
• “in the future, being on someone’s platform will mean being hosted on their infrastructure”
• pay more attention to open source tools that support scalable operations
5. open data
• mashups are based on open data ; who is owning these data?
• creative commons
• the new face of open source

• = framework
• = clonable web apps
• = mashups, web services

we don’t yet know

• what the platform of the future will look like
• what the sources of lock-in and competitive advantage will be

think ahead, don’t think back

Cross-posted on the ecenter solutions blog.

I just had a look at the program of EuroOSCON and tried to fix my agenda for the two days.

Day 1

Open Source 2.0: Tim O’Reilly

Attention, Please! Who Are We?: Tor Nørretranders

Open Source @ openBC: How, Why, and Where To?: Bill Liao

Channeling Open Source in Europe: Ranga Rangachari

Design Patterns for Positive Externalities: Marc Goldberg, Didier Beck

Open Data AWOL: Steve Coast

Journalism via Computer Programming: Adrian Holovaty

AllPeers: From Open Source to Open Media: Matthew Gertner

An Economic Interpretation of the Evolution of the Free/Open Source Software: Lorenzo Benussi

Making It Work: How to Build a Successful Open Source Project: Louis Suarez-Potts

Day 2

Make and the Re-emergence of DIY Tech: Dale Dougherty

Monitoring Large Scale Web Applications with Nagios: Pankaj Kaushal

How OSS Changed a Government Department: Walter Harms

The Secret Sauce of Robust Developer Communities: Denise Kalos, Andrew Kelly

The Creation Engine: Collaboration, Community and a Creative Commons in Second Life: Jim Purbrick

From Europe to USA: Culture’s Consequences on Open Source Communities and Businesses: Mårten Mickos

Lessons and Tips from the Ajax Frontline: Scott Dietzen

So, after some months, we have just opened the official ecenter solutions blog, which will be for a while our information and discussion platform.

Have a look! And let expect some cross-posting from now on ;-)

We have started with a Typepad platform, the pro level with a 30-days trial, specially because of the multi-authoring. The whole set-up and first adaptations of the design were very easy. Rendez-vous in some days for a detailed feedback.

[via Stephen Walli]

Some inputs concerning Oracle and Linux, I have missed this…

[…] The rumour suggests the Oracle version will be based on Red Hat’s distro. […] Oracle taking on its own distro rather than continuing to contribute to the community is engineering inefficient and a waste of shareholder money, and it doesn’t solve the customer’s problem any better. If Red Hat is unreasonably behind in delivering the platform to Oracle’s needs, they could better invest in the relationship than in undertaking to take on their own distro based on Red Hat. […] Oracle is still very like some other software companies, praising open source on the one hand around Linux, but with contradictory rhetoric on the other hand around such things as Postgres and EnterpriseDB and MySQL. Oracle Linux, or Oracle Red Hat Linux, would be bad business for Oracle.

Update: Stephen Walli is leaving Optaros to found a start-up. Exciting!

[via Seth Godin]

Giving good and efficient feedbacks is something essential … and not so easy. Some tips from Seth Godin.

In the interest of promoting your career, making your day at work more fun, improving the work life of your colleagues, and generally making my life a whole lot better, I’d like to give you some feedback on giving feedback. As usual, the ideas are simple–it’s doing them that’s tricky.

1. The first rule of great feedback is this: No one cares about your opinion.
2. The second rule? Say the right thing at the right time.
3. The third rule? If you have something nice to say, please say it.
4. If I haven’t intimidated you with my other rules, here’s the last one: Give me feedback, no matter what.

The mother-company of ecenter solutions is changing!

New name

The Helvetia Patria Group is now called the Helvetia Group (HEPN).

New logo

The old logo

The new one

New values

1. Trust
2. Drive
3. Enthusiasm

Celebration on Friday

About 1’800 people of the different Helvetia’s companies in Switzerland were celebrating on last Friday in the Zurich airport (a whole gate was reserved). Impressive!

Marc Goldberg invited me to co-deliver his presentation, which is a great honour for me , thanks! I will be in Brussels from Monday evening (September 18) to Wednesday afternoon. It is about the development of new business models, based on OSS.

If you want to meet, see you there or send me an email (didier DOT beck AT gmail DOT com).

Coming from Nick :-) I like this one very much … and I need to laugh this evening!

Helvetia, the European Insurance Holding ecenter solutions is integrated in, has published its (very good!) half-year results for some days. Have a look at the complete InfoKit.

Some financial highlights for the 1st semester 2006 (compared to the results for the 1st semester 2005):

• Profits: 163 mio CHF (116 mio CHF, + 39.9%)
• Gross premium written: 3’227 mio CHF (3’268 mio CHF, -1.2%)
• Investements (value per June 30, 2006): 27’852 mio CHF
• Net combined ratio (non-life): 95.6% (94.0 %)
• Return on Equity (annualised): 13.4% (11.0%)
• Shareholders’ equity (value per June 30, 2006): 2’368 mio CHF