Open Source Development Labs
Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) was a non-profit organization supported by a global consortium tasked to "accelerate the deployment of Linux for enterprise computing."[1] Founded in 2000, its goals included "to be the recognized center-of-gravity for the Linux industry." OSDL positioned itself as the "industry's first independent, non-profit lab for developers who are adding enterprise capabilities to Linux."[2] The headquarters was first incorporated in San Francisco but later relocated to Beaverton in Oregon with second facility in Yokohama, Japan.[3]
Successor | Linux Foundation |
---|---|
Founded | 2000 |
Dissolved | 2007 |
Type | 501(c)(6) organization |
Focus | Linux kernel, open source movement |
Location | |
Area served | Worldwide |
Method | Promotion, protection, and standardization of Linux by providing unified resources and services needed for open source to successfully compete with closed platforms. |
On January 22, 2007, OSDL and the Free Standards Group merged to form the Linux Foundation, narrowing their respective focuses to that of promoting Linux.[4]
Activities
OSDL sponsored key industry projects, including industry initiatives to enhance Linux for use in corporate data centres, in telecommunications networks, and on desktop computers. It also:
- provided hardware resources to the free software community and the open source community
- tested and reported on open source software
- employed a number of Linux developers.
Its employees included Linus Torvalds, the first OSDL fellow, and Bryce Harrington. In 2005, Andrew "Tridge" Tridgell was the second OSDL fellow for a year.
It had data centers in Beaverton (Oregon, United States) and Yokohama (Japan).
OSDL had investment backers that included: 7 funders of Computer Associates, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Ltd., Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel Corporation, Nippon Electric Corporation, as well as a large collection of independent software vendors, end-user companies and educational institutions. A steering committee composed of representatives from the investment backers directed OSDL, which also had a significant staff of its own.
Working groups
OSDL had established five Working Groups since 2002:
- Mobile Linux Initiative
- Carrier Grade Linux
- Data Center Linux
- Desktop Linux
- User Advisory Council
See also
- Patent Commons, a project launched in November 2005 by the OSDL
References
- About OSDL at the Wayback Machine (archive index) - January 20, 2007, version was last one archived prior to the merger.
- "Industry Leaders Including HP, Intel, IBM AND NEC Forming Open Source Development Lab For Linux". Archived from the original on 2003-06-07. Retrieved 2017-12-01.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)"
- "Open Source Development Labs Inc". www.buzzfile.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- "New Linux Foundation Launches – Merger of Open Source Development Labs and Free Standards Group" (Press release). The Linux Foundation. January 22, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
Computing is entering a world dominated by two platforms: Linux and Windows.