[TriLUG] Steam says that two percent of its users are now on Linux

[Alan Porter]

You two are talking about different aspects of open source.  I would 
like to butt in here and highlight this subtle difference, and suggest 
that you're both correct.

John is talking about how companies leverage open source to create 
something larger than they ever could alone.  They are standing on the 
shoulders of giants.  This is the BSD/Apache philosophy.  Use the code, 
enjoy, be happy, and you don't have to worry about giving away any of 
your secrets.  This is exactly what Wes Shields was talking about in his 
2010-07-08 talk at TriLUG ("Why Linux is Bad for Business").

Brandon is talking about SHARING contributions to open source. This is 
more of a GPL philosophy.  Use the source, but if you improve on it, 
share and share alike.

Both of you have nailed your respective points right on the head. But 
you're talking about two slightly different aspects of open source.  
These two ends of the sharing spectrum have always been at odds with one 
another.

Thanks to both of you for sharing.

-- 
# Alan Porter