I would say that we did thin interview because the world needs just one more
"cloud" post, but that's hard to justify.  Still, the cloud seem to be
segmenting into infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers, and platform as a
service (PaaS) providers.  IaaS (like Amazon Web Services) is basically
virtual machines in the sky, and this differs from traditional hosting because
with a cloud provider, you should be able to start and stop dozens or hundreds
of VMs through an API, and pay only for the CPU hours you use.  PaaS (like
Google App Engine) gives you a framework to code against, and it's a much more
restrictive environment (moving to PaaS is usually a rewrite), but you never
worry about individual machines, patching, or all that Jazz.

In this interview, we explore the concept or layering an arbitrary PaaS
implementation on top of an arbitrary IaaS provider.  Hmmm…

• How Open Platform as a Service fits into the development process and the industry as a whole
• Building an open software architecture for loosely coupled components and environments
• Developer interaction with Open Platform as a Service
• Dealing with elastic resource demands

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This interview reminds me a little of those sci-fi stories that start with the
big bang, and end 40 billion years in the future.  Con Zymaris has the
depth of experience to pull this off in the software space, offering some very
astute insights and provacative food for though along the way.

• The early days of computing as the foundations for open source
• Open source growing up alongside proprietary technology
• Circumstances that led to the dominance of Linux among open OSs
• The economic motivation for open source as the result of technological progress
• On the rise of commercial entities as open source guardians
• The effects of OEM momentum behind particular open source technologies
• Low-cost, lightweight computing as an upcoming nexus of power
• Keeping customers for the long haul without being able to lock them in

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In this interview, we talk with Intel's Dirk Hohndel about Moblin, the explosion
of devices, and how large companies do (or don't) really "get" open source.

• Moblin and its transition from Intel to the Linux Foundation
• Linux as a multi-purpose OS across device types
• On the limitations to how many devices people really want
• Data synchronization capabilities and limitations
• Integrating open source ethos into a large company’s business model
• Public acceptance and skepticism of commercial involvement in open source

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If you’ve ever used a Wii control or played an iPhone game, you’re familiar with the kind technology that Hillcrest Labs makes, and they make some of the best. In this interview, we talk about their decision to open-source their library and the benefits this brings back from their developer community.

• Freespace products and the air pointer market
• Bringing order to the expanding world of digital content in the living room
• Building new devices for human-computer interaction
• Distributing open source libraries to spur innovation
• The math and alorithms behind motion tracking and control
• The Loop: a next-generation pointing device

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We came across David Dennis and Simon Bennett at GroundWork Open Source, because they seemed to do something that didn’t entirely make sense. GroudWork is an open source company that released a plug-in for a completely proprietary product – a connector for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, of all things.

Read on to see how they explain this, and how they school us on open source management tools.

• Pulling together various open source monitoring tools into a comprehensive package
• Native capabilities of Microsoft Systems Center Operations Manager for limited non-Windows systems
• The impact of tough economic times on software choice by customers
• Contrasting contributions from sysadmins with those from developers
• Benefits to Groundwork of the open source approach
• Drawing from and contributing to the larger open source community
• Choosing components to include in the overall project

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Joseph Smarr

In this interview we talk with Joseph Smarr, CTO of Plaxo. In specific, we talk about:

• Plaxo’s foundations before the social web
• The value of rich user profiles
• Grassroots development and ownership of personal data
• Sharing personal data as a prerequisite for interoperability
• Navigating irregularly structured data as a coherent whole
• Managing authorized access to personal data across websites
• Relative timelines of media buzz and industry adoption
• Efficiencies from standards as a streamlining force in business development
• The corporate opportunity for social media and its impediments

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Michael Hart

In this interview we talk with Michael of Netflix. In specific, we talk about:

• Netflix’s offerings in terms of open architecture
• Balancing the need for product consistency with innovation
• Openness as a spur to expansive success
• The role of Linux on CE devices in the future of entertainment media
• The primacy of browser technology in delivering the future
• Harnessing cooperation as a creative force

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Stephen Lau

In this interview we talk with Stephen of Songbird. In specific, we talk about:

• How Songbird fits into the Mozilla pantheon
• Aligning user interests with those of content providers
• How Songbird fits into the larger world of open source media players
• Songbird’s business and revenue model in the near term and beyond
• Usability and expandability as strategic precepts
• Apple as an inspirational model

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Paolo Juvara

In this interview we talk with Paolo of OpenBravo. In specific, we talk about:

• Openbravo and the niche for open source ERP
• Drawing developers to an ERP project
• The roles of modularity and customizability in Openbravo
• Acquisition by external companies as a goal of some open source projects
• Effectively differentiating free from paid product versions
• Openness as a core Openbravo value

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Daniel Jacobson

In this interview we talk with Daniel of NPR. In specific, we talk about:

• Providing open access to content at NPR
• Extending content to multiple platforms
• The role of open source in NPR’s public mission
• Relevance of open source ethos to no-for-profit endeavors
• Hurdles to making their technology public
• Significance of commercial acquisition of open source projects
• Choosing technologies and technology philosophies
• The elusive nature of content control in a connected world

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Stefano Fornari

In this interview we talk with Stefano the CTO of Funambol. In specific, we talk about:

• Defining synchronization as a core technology for the future of mobile computing
• The protocols underlying synchronization scenarios
• Various mechanisms used to initiate synchronization
• Characteristics of the open source community specific to mobility
• Conventions that govern contributors and contributions
• Core technical problems in synchronization

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Matt Mullenwegr

In this interview we talk with Matt Mullenweg of WordPress and Automattic. In specific, we talk about:

• Successfully making the culture shift when an open source project is acquired by a corporation
• Scaling skills and physical resources effectively as a project gets larger
• Handling comment spam in blogging environments
• Achieving usability for a technically diverse user base
• The value of an open source community in recruiting people
• The place of blogs in a world of open-ended communication options

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Denis Lussier

In this interview we talk with Denis. In specific, we talk about:

• The role of PostgreSQL in the enterprise database sphere
• Building performance to expand upon the capabilities of LAMP
• Creating a hybrid open source/corporate business model
• The role of various license types in enabling business models
• Sun’s relationship with PostgreSQL

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Ricky Zhou

In this interview we talk with Ricky. In specific, we talk about:

• Identity of the Fedora community and its relationship with Red Hat
• Relationship between Fedora and other distributions
• Upstream projects as they relate to Fedora
• Public opinion about the Fedora project
• Open source involvement in the software industry and university sphere

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Krishna

In this interview we talk with Krishna. In specific, we talk about:

• The birth of Novell-Microsoft NOS interoperability
• Participating in the development of key Windows technologies
• Making Linux and UNIX first class citizens in a Windows network.
• The relationship between Likewise and Samba
• Key aspects of Active Directory functionality for UNIX/Linux
• Making the decision between making a code base open source or closed
• Deciding which features to offer for free in a multi-tier model
• The role of Group Policy in Likewise

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Agostino

In this interview we talk with Agostino. In specific, we talk about:

• The history of Wubi
• Providing a bridge for Windows users to try Linux easily
• Integrating Wubi into the Linux community and specifically Ubuntu
• Making the OS install and later upgrade simple for users
• Feedback from users and other Linux distributions

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Liz Danzico

In this interview we talk with Liz. In specific, we talk about:

• User experience consulting for open source versus closed source customers
• Pros and cons of working with small groups versus open communities
• Strategies for harnessing the wisdom of crowds
• Design by omission versus inclusion of features and achieving coherence with a dispersed team
• Clustering meaning: roles for both humans and computers
• Web acilitation of conversation: emulating pre-literate culture

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Alexey Rusakov

In this interview we talk with Alexey. In specific, we talk about:

• Tracing a history of involvement as a Linux contributor
• The rise of Free Software in Russia
• The role of ALT Linux in advancing Free Software
• The expansion of Free Software in schools and other Russian institutions
• The Russian government’s role in technological change

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Gwyn Fisher

In this interview we talk with Gwyn. In specific, we talk about:

• The value of automated code review
• The advantage of code review at the developer level
• Judging the security of open source codebases
• Coordinating bug resolution between distros and upstream projects
• Educating users about vulnerability in the face of complacency
• The changing face of computer attacks
• Why isn’t everyone using code-validation tools?

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Interviewers: Scott Swigart and Sean Campbell

Interviewee: Chris Messina

In this interview we talk with Chris. In specific, we talk about:

• Meritocracy and flexibility in the open-source approach
• Bringing together designers and programmers into a cooperative whole
• The new wave of portable devices and the role of Linux
• Deciding how many features are useful and where bloat sets in
• Analogies from the natural world in project evolution
• Seeking balance between backward compatibility, future-proofness, and open innovation
• The next revolution in personal media on the Internet

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