Is Squiz's MySource Matrix Really Open Source? - (27/04/05)by: Edgar Pisani, On Q Web I recently attended the Second Australian Open Computing in Government Conference in Canberra, on 18 and 19 of April 2005, organised by AUUG (Australian UNIX and Open Systems Users Group).
One of the things that caught my attention was how the government is promoting the use of open source software within government agencies and most of all software re-use in government.
After listening to quite a few interesting conferences, the one I was expecting, because my company installs a TRULY open source CMS (Content Management System) called TYPO3 (http://www.typo3.org), was the one of Squiz (http://www.squiz.net), which is the creator of a CMS called MySource Matrix (http://matrix.squiz.net).
The Squiz conference was about how to deliver open source (software) to government. To my surprise, the speaker, Avi Miller, said there was a last minute change in the presentation and he ended up talking about the features of MySource Matrix and how it was implemented in the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO).
During the Squiz conference I just kept thinking, wait a minute, what am I doing installing TYPO3 systems? It is clear that if AGIMO, which provides guidance in ICT implementations to government agencies, is using MySource Matrix on its website, that would certainly influence other government agencies when making a decision about which content management system they should be using. If MySource Matrix is open source I should train myself in MySource Matrix and start offering MySource Matrix CMS configuration, installation and training as part of my services.
After coming back from the conference, I decided to have a look at the MySource Matrix website. These are my findings:
From the FAQ of MySource Matrix (http://matrix.squiz.net/?a=491), “MySource Matrix is free to download and use for commercial and non-commercial use. If you would like to extend the functionality of MySource Matrix, you can contact Squiz.net for details about our commercial packages, including additional Content Management functionality, a Search Engine or even LDAP integration with OpenLDAP or Microsoft's Active Directory. You can also enquire about custom development for your own project.”
After looking around the website, I found this out: “The functionality of MySource Matrix may be extended through a series of COMMERCIALLY available modules. These modules are organised into groups of similar functionality called packages. Squiz.net sell all four module packages as a single bundle from $AUD 20,000 (approx $USD 14,000 or GBP 7,500). Squiz sometimes provide the modules at no cost to government, education or not-for-profit organisations. If you would like to know more about acquiring these modules contact us”.
I have only experience on TYPO3 CMS, but I guess that most open source systems follow the same principles: they are OPEN. You can have a look at the list of the FREE extensions provided by TYPO3, including OpenLDAP and Search Engine by visiting this page: http://typo3.org/extensions/
My next investigation was about licensing:The licensing model of Squiz doesn't belong to any of the traditional open source licensing models, such as GPL, LGPL or BSD (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/). The licensing model of Squiz is unique to Squiz (http://matrix.squiz.net/about/licence) and is not listed on the open source website.
One of the most interesting parts of the licensing model is:
“2.8 You must Notify Squiz.Net within 30 days of making any Modifications even if You do not intend to distribute those Modifications. Notify is defined in Clause 4.2 below. If Your Modifications are incomplete, You must still Notify Squiz of the status of your progress not less frequently than once every 30 days. If You do not Notify Squiz.Net of Modifications You have made (complete or not) within 30 days, Squiz.Net may deem that you have opted to limit your obligations in accordance with Clause 3 and as such Squiz.Net may reasonably charge You the consideration indicated in Clause 3.”
My last investigation was about MySource usage on the Internet. After doing a basic Google search, this is what I found out:
It looks like the only vendor that supports MySource is Squiz. There was an independent installation of MySource (The previous version of MySource Matrix) at the University of Western Australia, but there doesn't seem to be any independent installations of the new product MySource Matrix.
I also had a look at a site that evaluates open source CMS: http://www.opensourcecms.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=388&Itemid=143
There are about 50 open source CMS in the list of most used open source systems around the world, MySource is nowhere to be found.
It is nice to hear that the Australian Government is catching up with the two year delay that is has, compared to European Countries, in the open source software implementation in government agencies and that it just introduced the Guide For Adoption Of Open Source Software, allowing government agencies to make informed decisions that best suit their IT needs and get value for money.
My worry in this case is that I believe that the word “Open Source” has been used by Squiz to attract government agencies adopting and using the open source bill, offering a product that is “open source”, but when you look closer is not. The worst part of it is that in my opinion the implementation of MySource seems to be promoted by AGIMO, as a Government measure to advertise that they are using and promoting open source software.
Even though you can certainly use a minimal part of MySource Matrix for free, to have access to more advanced modules you have to pay $AUD 20.000 for modules that many TRULY open source CMS offer for free. Does this really follow the Open Source principles?
One of the points that the government is using in promoting open source software is that it helps small companies like On Q Web. I don't see how MySource can help us, and I don't see a difference between using Squiz or Microsoft as a vendor.
The switch to open source should be about transparency and vendor independence. I honestly don't think MySource provides any of those.
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