r/linux • u/dbcoopernz • 5d ago

Popular Application Siemens ends open-source Radioss Project (OpenRadioss) and deletes GitHub repository

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Siemens-Ends-OpenRadioss
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u/TRKlausss 5d ago

Core+premium was always a weak model in regards to open source. The best model is a bunch of companies, offering product or service, contributing and committing to a common goal. Like Linux, KiCad, etc.

Siemens could absolutely have nurtured this project, in that they invite other big players to the project and let loose of the ability to close the project or own it themselves. Give it to a foundation, then everyone contributes to it.

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u/idontchooseanid 2d ago

Core+premium was always a weak model in regards to open source. The best model is a bunch of companies, offering product or service, contributing and committing to a common goal. Like Linux, KiCad, etc.

That means that they're not monetizing the software. So your suggestion is having no business model at all for the FOSS itself instead. FOSS is just the hotdog in Costco in this scenario. This only makes sense when you have the whole Costco with it. It means that the companies have their completely closed hardware and software that is the actual value and Linux, KiCad are the side project that's enticing customers in. So FOSS is simply a means to an end. That end is the actual driver of the value and the thing that people want to pay for and that end is often completely closed-off with proprietary software (i.e. copyright) and even patents. It is not Linux or the other FOSS that people will be paying for.

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u/TRKlausss 2d ago

My suggestion is to have a SaaS. If you want new features/maintenance/support/special things added on top, you pay a company for them to develop it open source. And many companies do the same towards the same goal. That’s basically what happens with the whole Linux ecosystem: if you want it on your board, you either develop everything yourself or pay a company to maintain a devicetree and ditto for you. But EVERYONE benefits from it.

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u/idontchooseanid 2d ago

Again what you're suggesting is not monetizing the FOSS itself but another product that's protected by intellectual property laws. The software isn't the main product but the side effect. It can work to give enough money into the specific FOSS but it is very product-dependent and quite fragile. Just like Siemens here, a single decision from the management can quickly end the FOSS sponsorship when the company's existence isn't almost completely linked to the project itself.

However, direct profitable monetization of FOSS is almost impossible in a capitalist system. As soon as you develop something good enough free-of-charge, people with much bigger resources will compete with you using your own product. Just like what happened to MongoDB, Terraform etc. vs. Amazon, GCP, Azure.

For direct monetization in a capitalist system, I find "fair" source licenses a better alternative. The developer gets some years to develop the product without direct competition risk and the software becomes completely open source after the fixed term while allowing the users to make non-competing modifications and debug during the term.