future-proofing and migration
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick2 Sep 01, 2006 10:33 AM EDT |
Our esteamed editor posed the question: "[Unfortunately, they mean "non-libre". So, if the company folds two years from now, how easy will it be to migrate back to a libre solution (or any solution)? - dcparris]" There are at least a couple of ways to handle this. If your data are stored in open formats, then you always own your data, even if you're stuck using closed, proprietary applications. This is why microsoft launched such a vicious attack on the Massachusetts open document initiative. Then there are open protocols for interoperability between diverse platforms, such as network protocols. Again, we all know that our favorite villains in Redmond borked their nice BSD TCP/IP stack on purpose to try to lockin customers, even though TCP/IP is supposed to be platform-neutral, and the BSD stack was superior. Imagine deliberately vandalizing something that good just for lockin. Some folks have no soul at all. So there are a number of ways to foil vendor lockin and obsolescence even when you can't use nice FOSS apps. They're not ideal, and usually mean you'll need some custom programming for rescue/migration, but it sure beats getting left high and dry. |
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