Re: [DIYbio] Re: Genome Compiler

Just for clarity's sake: Are you planning to release your code under an
Open-Source license once it is ready?

Omri: You may be surprised just how many successful companies there are
that share their code entirely. It's fast becoming the new norm, as
companies realise that:
A) Most customers don't *want* to roll their own: they just want to
trust the platform. Those who do roll their own, probably weren't going
to be customers anyway.
B) More often than not, the software isn't really the product, it's just
the platform. Compare this epiphany to early Rail Tycoons who didn't buy
into Air Travel because they mistakenly believed they were in the
*Rail*, and not *Travel*, business.
C) Competition is good for business. Look what happens to companies that
lack competition; they grow complacent with astonishing rapidity, and
get destroyed by new innovators. Nokia is a good example in the top-tier
domain, but it applies to companies at every level of success.
D) Code bearing a "CopyLeft" license such as the GNU license ensures
that if someone "steals" your code (if that's your attitude though, you
don't get it yet! :)), you can "steal" their improvements right back.
Open source doesn't mean "giving away": it means "sharing", or
"collaborating".

I'm not saying you guys *have* to go open source. That's your choice.
However, I think you want *us* to think that Open Source is unusual, or
impossible for you, or a bad idea. In that case, you may be barking up
the wrong tree; this community was built on the same principals as Open
Source, and it's what makes DIYbio so great and so surprisingly
successful. We don't covet our work, or our ideas, or our time; we share
it all and we receive in return.

Anyways; you don't have to accept this mindset, but don't be surprised
if some/many of us opt for the more open platform. I'll still look
forward to trying your webapp at some stage- it looks like it ticks a
lot of boxes as far as design goals are concerned, but as long as the
source remains closed/secret, I don't believe I'll adopt it for my work.

On 02/07/12 17:39, Connor Dickie wrote:
> Hey Brian,
>
> We do make the entire codebase for GENtle available via GitHub. GENtle is a
> stand-alone web-app that does not require any additional software to be
> useful. Anyone can download it and run it locally or host on their own web
> server. Some developers have already done this.
>
> At the FBI event I demoed GENtle along with our supplementary web-based
> project and team management software that is free to use, but is not open
> source. I should have made that more clear in the demo, and has since been
> noted in subsequent demos that I have given.
>
> Currently we make a hosted version of GENtle available as an open beta that
> anyone can use, but the supplementary tools are still in closed testing.
>
> I hope this clears things up!
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Connor
>
>
>
> On Monday, July 2, 2012 11:52:27 AM UTC-4, Bryan Bishop wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Connor Dickie <ronnoc@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Folks seem to be interested in open source, web-based HTML5 apps these
>>> days so I figured it would be useful for the community to know that
>>> Synbiota has released a Beta DNA editor that works on all operating systems
>>> via the browser - even on a tablet
>>
>>
>> I remember checking your github repository out during the FBI workshop,
>> and there was only a small portion of your software up as open source. :-/
>> Maybe Genome Compiler could release even more, like the other open source
>> projects (say, the biolang series, etc.).
>>
>> - Bryan
>> http://heybryan.org/
>> 1 512 203 0507
>>
>

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