Propaganda Against Open Source Technology Shows up in Disney

Children's programming has taken an interesting turn by not only mentioning an innovative technology such as open source, but also taking a stance on it. The Register has the story and commentary of its own in their article, "Disney Sitcom Says Open Source is Insecure."

While it was not the focal point of the episode, the Disney sitcom Shake it Up implied instability and insecurity of open source coding through a scene of dialogue between characters. While there has not been an eruption of protest against the insult yet, the author believes this could be likely from open source community enthusiasts.

Of the article's insights on the subject, the following proved the most notable:

In a company the size of Disney it is understandable that the left hand sometimes scarcely knows the other even exists. It therefore seems entirely likely the sitcom was written, filmed and screened without anyone involved knowing that Disney-owned Pixar recently released some of its production code under an open source licence. 

All publicity is not good publicity. It is intriguing that the concept would be mentioned in a children's show, and propaganda may not be an inapt description of the mention. However even Disney-Pixar knows that open source technology has been known to offer innovative solutions in a number of industries, for example PolySpot's enterprise software.

Megan Feil, September 3, 2012

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