advertising information

CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 LOCAL
 POLITICS
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
   computing
   personal technology
   space
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 CNN programs
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

  CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
COMPUTING

Apple alters open-source licenses after criticism

April 23, 1999
Web posted at: 11:40 a.m. EDT (1540 GMT)

by Elinor Mills

From...
InfoWorld
apple

(IDG) -- Apple has made two changes to its new open-source license agreement after developers complained that it was too restrictive.

Apple has eliminated a clause in its Apple Public Source License that barred developers from shipping software derived from the code to certain countries that the U.S. government has targeted for export restrictions, said Ken Bereskin, a technology marketing director for Apple's operating system business.

The company also loosened a provision that previously allowed Apple to terminate a
MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
  IDG.net home page
  InfoWorld home page
  InfoWorld forums home page
  InfoWorld Internet commerce section
  Get Media Grok and The Industry Standard Intelligencer delivered for free
 Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
  IDG.net's personal news page
  Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
  Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for IT leaders
  Search IDG.net in 12 languages
 News Radio
  Fusion audio primers
  Computerworld Minute
   
license if the developer sued Apple for infringement of intellectual property rights. Now, Apple can only suspend the developer's rights under the license agreement until the dispute is legally resolved, according to Bereskin.

Apple made the changes in response to developer feedback, including discussion forums such as www.slashdot.org, Bereskin said. For the most part, though, developers are happy with the license agreement, he added.

Last month Apple announced it was releasing to developers source code for a few key components of its Mac OS X Server operating system.

Since the open-source release, dubbed Darwin, has been available, there have been more than 160,000 downloads of source-code components and more than 20,000 developers have registered on Apple's Darwin Web site, Bereskin said.

Apple's goals are to attract more applications to the Macintosh platform, spread the company's technology to other platforms, and improve Apple code by allowing developers to add capabilities and detect bugs, Bereskin said.

Some of the results of the project are bearing fruit. For example, Apple's NetInfo technology is now available on the Linux operating system and Sassafras Software has built AppleTalk networking into its KeyServer product, Bereskin added.


RELATED STORIES:
Open source guru blames proprietary software for Y2K woes
March 11, 1999
Unix and Linux: Similar technologies, different career prospects
April 16, 1999
Linux to outpace all contenders through 2003
April 2, 1999
Opinion: Can Linux score big with IP gaming?
April 1, 1999

RELATED IDG.net STORIES:
Apple turns $135 million profit in second quarter
(NetWork Fusion World)
Big software struggles with open source
(The Industry Standard)
Apple 'thinks different' with new announcements
(Civic.com)
FAQ: Apple opens up an operating system
(Computerworld)
Apple adopts open source model with new OS
(LinuxWorld)

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.


RELATED SITES:
Apple Computer Inc.
SlashDot

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

 LATEST HEADLINES:
SEARCH CNN.com
Enter keyword(s)   go    help

Back to the top   © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.