Comments on: Comments on 6059

Post number 6059

Firda — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 05:24:15 -0800

OpenCola Soft Drink™ "source code" has been released under General Public License and is freely available for download from their website. It marks the first time that open-source licensing has been applied to a consumer product. Or so they say.

By: hotmud

hotmud — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 07:31:45 -0800

Shouldn't Bruce be working on a new novel for his rabid fans (like myself) instead of this elaborate online shaggy dog story? I guess I get the "joke". Or are their "other" products the real thing and I am sucker? Extremely likely I think.

By: darukaru

darukaru — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 07:41:22 -0800

So if this is GPLed, do I have to provide my own source code if I drink it?

By: baylink

baylink — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 08:19:23 -0800

5 to 1 throw, eh? Yeah, that's a pretty believeable Merchandise 7X.

By: Firda

Firda — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 08:36:46 -0800

I think it's an interesting idea nonetheless. I'd love to GPL my cheesecake "source code" and see what others could come up with it.

By: mikel

mikel — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 08:52:08 -0800

Bruce Sterling just wrote the glowing blurb. OpenCOLA comes from the company of the same name, one of whose founders is Cory Doctorow, also a sci-fi writer and a contributor to Mark Frauenfelder's Boing Boing weblog. The two of them together is like some mad dream team of weblogging. The company is based in Toronto and San Francisco.

By: Firda

Firda — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 09:09:06 -0800

It looks like every website on this planet is only one degree separated from a weblog :)

By: Steven Den Beste

Steven Den Beste — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 10:17:50 -0800

That's it. It's official now: Linux is not a consumer product. Everyone go home; there's no story here.

By: kindall

kindall — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 13:48:38 -0800

It's really fun reading the ingredients list and seeing how much of the stuff is irritating and/or poisonous in mass quantities. "Oils can cause skin irritation." "Art-grade Gum Arabic is toxic." "Phosphoric acid... is corrosive to the eyes and skin. Handle with gloved hands, and use extreme caution... *Do not* store more than 50.0 ml." "Caffeine... Toxic by inhalation and ingestion... Possible teratogen and mutagen." And we drink this stuff?

By: harmful

harmful — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 14:05:37 -0800

We all regularly consume a compound made of a metal that is so volatile that it explodes on contact with water, and a poisonous gas; what's the big deal?

By: holgate

holgate — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 14:13:24 -0800

The standard argument against open-sourcing tangible products is that they're up against insurmountable barriers to entry: economies of scale, plant costs, distribution etc. It's the difference between being able to knock up a fantastic meal every couple of weeks for friends, and running a Michelin-starred restaurant. But that's why it works well with software, where there's only bits to be exchanged. It's easier to make nerve gas than manufacture cola. And it's debatable which does more damage in the long run.

By: snarkout

snarkout — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 14:47:59 -0800

Harmful, expect your cease-and-desist letter from the Morton Salt people to be arriving any day now.

By: holgate

holgate — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 17:11:18 -0800

We all regularly consume a compound made of a metal that is so volatile that it explodes on contact with water, and a poisonous gas; what's the big deal? And given that plenty of this compound is dissolved in another compound, made up of a highly flammable gas and the gas that facilitates burning... well, I wouldn't go to the beach this spring break. (Gotta love compound chemistry.)