“Tiemann said his quote needed to be read in the context of his
status as ‘a founder of Cygnus, which nobody disputes was the
world’s first open source company.’ Cygnus Solutions was
incorporated in November 1989.”
“‘Red Hat acquired Cygnus and incorporated the first open source
commercial enterprise,’ said Tiemann, who took the position of CTO
with Red Hat earlier this year after Red Hat’s November 1999
acquisition of Cygnus Solutions.”
“Once again, there are two ways to read this. Some in the
community interpret Red Hat’s purchase of the pioneering company as
a bid for legitimacy, but there can be no denying that Cygnus (and
Tiemann) have been active participants in Free Software and early
leaders in the marketing-oriented Open Source movement….”
“We’re inclined to lean toward the point Tiemann is trying to
make, even if his comments, prior to his clarification, seem odd.
His participation in Free Software predates Red Hat’s existence,
and his experiences and those of his company, now part of Red Hat,
are certainly something the company can draw on.”