Open-Source Soft{ware,drink}: "OpenCOLA"

Rahoule writes: "The National Post reports that a Toronto company will release the first open-source cola with its open-source software: 'Steelbridge Inc. will announce today it [will] develop openCOLA, a new software program which automates the selection, discovery, and evaluation of Web sites.'" FAQ question 2.2: "Ain't this just a publicity stunt?" Answer: "Sure. But ..."

They describe an interesting-sounding distributed Napsteresque Web crawler, but there's just one thing missing from this open-source project: source. "You'll start seeing code after Labor Day," says today's press release.

riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

this is so trendy it's pathetic.

BTW - i'll be open sourcing my ass next week for all of you who'd like to get a look at it. I figure if i get enough venture capital and go IPO/Open-Source with it, i'll be able to make millions off it. (Yes, that's pronounced GNU/Ass)


FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network

Open Source Food is a Good Idea

Actually, even though Open Source Cola is mere publicity stunt, the idea of Open Source Food itself is pretty good. I think consumers would appreciate knowing what ingredients and processes are involved in producing what they eat. GNU vegetables would only use open-sourced genetic modifications. You would be able to use GNU vegetables in your food, but only if you open-source your recipe.

Mmmm... washing down your yacc and perl onion stew with a glass of OpenCola.

Their "Legal" Page Is Hilarious

Click here [steelbridge.com]

To quote

1) See if Hemos and Commander Taco are secretly plotting to buy openCola with the windfall profits they accrued from selling Hemos' sister to the Sultan of Brunei;

Or this little gem in the boilerplate:

WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND RIGHT ABOUT NOW, THE FUNK SOULBROTHER, CHECK IT OUT, THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY STEELBRIDGE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY AND IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE ABOUT AS DUMB AS A BAG OF HAMMERS.

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of openCOLA! It could quench the thirstiest finite-element analysis researcher!

Other Open Source Food Ideas

• Col. Sanders' Secret Blend of 11 Herbs and Spices
• Recipe for Big Mac Sauce
• The Method for Filling Twinkies w/ Creme Filling
• The precise number of licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop

The world may never know...

--

what is the advantage

Why is it helpful to have the recipe for the soda printed on the can? Maybe I just don't get it, but it's not like you'll take a sip and say, "A little too sweet", send in a bug-fix, and then next time you pick up a case it will be less sweet. I'd rather have an open-source TV than a softdrink.

I do like the idea of Perl scripts on the can. Though I would put actual working scripts that do something useful rather than "cute" scripts.

nojw

openCOLA, the ultimate conspiracy

From the article:

The soft drink won't be sold in stores, but will be handed out to hackers at trade shows and conferences and distributed to others at special events.

I can picture a friendly-looking moustacioed nerd passing out cans of openCOLA...

Nerd: Want some free openCOLA?

Kernel Hacker: Is it free like "free speech" or like "free cola"?

Nerd: Umm... both, I guess... just try some...

Kernel Hacker: Does it have lots and lots of caffeine?

Nerd: This stuff makes Jolt [joltcola.com](tm) seem like rainwater in comparison!

K.H.: Is that normal rain or acid rain?

Nerd: Just try it. Come on... the first one's free... everyone's doing it... don't you want to be '1337?

K.H.: Not particularly... but that stuff sounds powerful... lemme try some...

Nerd: (snickering, hands over a can)

K.H.: Ahhhh... this stuff is goo-- URRk! (Plop! The poor Kernel Hacker falls to the ground...)

Nerd peels off fake moustache revealing that he is actually Bill Gates.

Bill: Mua ha ha ha! That's what you get for writing xbill back in college!

A Large, Bald Goon (Ballmer?) drags the corpse of the poor hacker away, then eats it.

Re:Their "Legal" Page Is Hilarious

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of openCOLA! It could quench the thirstiest finite-element analysis researcher!

Image is nothing. Source is everything...

numb

root beer?

maybe that's what they mean by "root beer"

Open Cola? Isn't that what the tabs are for?

Forgive me for saying so, but I think the idea of Open Cola is bad. A couple reasons.

1. Most Cola comes pre packaged closed to keep contaminents out of the can.

2. An Open Cola is more susceptible to doing harm by "bad" people who poison it. It is less secure than closed cola. (This statement paid for by Microsoft)

3. An Open Cola is more consuming on resources, and management, as improper handling techniques could lead to an unexpected spill, leak, or even crash. Closed Cola somehow magically circumvents this effect.

4. Open Cola is, by it's very nature dangerous stuff. Due to it's high citrus and sugar content, it can and does regularly damage teeth. It is also carbonated, which could allow for the unexpected to inhale through the opening, and suffocate. Closed cola, while also carbonated, high in citrus and sugar content, and generally no better than Open Cola, cannot be tested as thoroughly, due to the restricting "One Tab" EULA agreement vendors place on their customers.

5. An Open Cola is more apt to go stale quicker than a Closed Cola. Unless, of course, you enact the EULA of the Closed Cola.

krystal_blade

Re:"Cola" flavoring is...

Actually, Coca-Cola still uses an extract of the coca leaf. The Wall Street Journal had a really cool piece several years back on the company that does the processing of the leaf for them. The processing company is the only company in the country with a permit to legally import the leaves, and they do all the processing in a bunker-like facility (in NJ, IIRC) so that none of it gets stolen and turned into cocaine. I seem to recall that they also process the leaves for certain pharmaceutical companies. Different components of the leaf for the meds and the drink, I'd assume, but either the WSJ didn't ask or they weren't telling.
~luge

Just a couple of notes

National Post: ...Steelbridge has brewed up a few thousand cases of cola -- the soft drink -- and will print the recipe and some computer code on each can...

That should read "will be brewing up a few thousand cases of cola." It's not ready yet.

National Post: Open Source is a model of software development in which the creators release the source code to a product for free and encourage others to share it, copy it, and modify it, with the caveat that it cannot be sold.

I'm still wincing from reading this, and that was hours ago. I am certain beyond doubt that nobody at the company told them that.

National Post: ...John Henson, the 24-year-old chief technology officer...

John is 27. He only acts like a 24-year-old.

Re:while ($nitpick) { &complain; }

> Most notably is an incorrectly placed semicolon (should be directly
> after $sip, not after the brace).

As the programmer who thought up this script, I thank you for the
feedback. At this point, I'm not sure if the error was my oversight,
or a typo which got introduced by the printers. I'll try to get
this corrected.

I would also like to point out that technically there was no error.

I can assure you that we've tested the code, and it ran fine.

To prove that this wasn't simply because it wasn't getting to that
line for some reason (and that the printers hadn't accidentally
changed the code after testing), I modified the script for debugging
purposes:

#!/usr/bin/perl

$sip = "Slurp\n";
$colaRemaining = 1;
$reallyThirsty = 0;

open CAN, "excitedly"; join ($can, $mouth);
while ($colaRemaining > 0)
{if ($reallyThirsty) {$chug;}else {print $sip};}
dump IN_RECYCLING_BOX; IN_RECYCLING_BOX:
return;

This ran the correct output:

Slurp
Slurp
Slurp

(etc.)

Apparently, Perl, with it's famous TMTOWTDI (There's More Than One Way
To Do It), allows the programmer to leave out a semicolon in a
brace-enclosed single line (such as '{print $sip}'). Of course the
following ';' between the braces--while doing no harm--has no function.

> Oh yeah, and what's the point of a scalar without a context of any
> sort (aka the $chug and the $sip)?

Unfortunately we were unable to create functions that convinced our
test-computers to actually drink, so we had to put up with scalers
which only gave the "impression" of drinking a can of openCola. :-)

Re:riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

This seems to go right along with Gabe's "Gentlemen, I am about to IPO my wang ... wait, where are you going? it has _great_ growth potential!" on Penny-Arcade! ;-P

The Linkage

http://www.penny-arcade .com/view.php3?date=2000-05-26&res=h [penny-arcade.com]

=)

Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".

dammit!

It's too bad it's not open source beer... I'd like to see all the "free as in beer?" people get screwed over by that ;)

-- Dr. Eldarion --
It's not what it is, it's something else.

hrm

Red Hat Orange Soda (Has an automatic "twist off" and is very easy to drink with it's non-drip opening. All focusing on selling to large business because it has a good distrubation system)

Slackware RootBeer 7 (Comes in a glass bottle without any whimpy twist off cap. You have to use a crowbar to get it open. Not sold in cases, only sold in single bottles, this rootbeer don't have a package system. Because package systems are for the weak.)

Turbo Cola (jolt rip off, note the "TURBO". Comes with the cans "soldered" together so you have to drink 6 at a time. Very usefull for large thrist)

SuSE Green Juice (each case contents 6 times the cans of that of a normal case. Has more soda per case than any other openCola distrubation manufacter)

OpenBSD Cola (Comes with a combination lock based on 1 of 2 million differant encodings instead of a pop top or twist off cap.)

Debain LemonLime (Packaged and distrubated by volentars to the project. The drink is free, but you need to bring you own cup)

Coral Grape (The company used to compete head on with the softdrink giants (Coca-cola, pepsi), but moved it's drink over into OpenCola project and is going on the attack again with an easy to use "twist off")

Solaris Blue (Claims to be OpenCola, but isn't really. Due to a length license agreement printed on the inside of the can, the ink makes the cola near toxic to most indivuals.)

SlashCodeCola (Ever time you ask for the formual it automatically closes the can and you have to wait 24 hours before taking another drink)