Our guest for March is Linda Wright.

Her talk is entitled New Business Models for Open Source Advocates and Developers:

"In a nutshell, I plan to survey some of the past Commercial and OSS business models (from the anarchic and utopian to the present) and discuss some of the commercial implications of these. I then intend to discuss three contemporary OSS business models, their virtues and limitations, and the new trend of large so-called 'old economy' companies solving the problem of OSS competition by buying out start-ups. Then I will move on to talk about the business model of Concentus, which I believe is fairly unique, and how I believe it addresses some of the classical problems that both commercial and OSS developers face with their respective models. Anyone who has ever wondered how the heck you can make money out of supposedly free software should probably attend."

Linda Wright is the former Software Development Manager for Toll New Zealand (Corporate). Linda is a native of San Francisco, California and has over 20 years experience in Software Development, SDLC Management and Business Consulting. Some of her personal career highlights include developing one of the world's first Visual Software Development Environments (1989), the creation of a complex problem solving methodology called 'The Resolution of Complexity' (1992), and a patent for a Telephonic Transaction System (1998). Linda is the managing director of a film production company called Pretty Good Productions Ltd, and has recently formed Concentus Ltd, an Auckland-based technology company.

Location is TW.2.07 at the University of Waikato. Meeting will start at 7:30pm. Refreshments will be available afterwards.