Blog English: Difference between revisions

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=mintarc Team Blog=

== March 30 - 2026 A Guide for the Japanese Business Leader with a FOSS Perspective==

In the bustling business districts of Tokyo and Osaka, modern commerce moves at a speed that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. We see the sleek hardware, the glowing screens, and the seamless mobile applications that power our daily lives. Yet, for many business owners in Japan, there remains a fundamental mystery regarding the software that makes this all possible. There is a common misconception that software must be either a proprietary product purchased from a massive corporation like Microsoft or Oracle, or something built entirely from scratch by an expensive team of in-house developers. However, there is a third pillar that actually supports the majority of the modern world’s digital infrastructure. This pillar is Free and Open Source Software, commonly referred to as FOSS. To understand the modern economy, a business owner must understand that they are likely already using FOSS every single day, even if they have never heard the term.

Understanding Open Source starts with a shift in perspective regarding intellectual property. In the traditional Japanese business mindset, a "product" is something finished, packaged, and protected by strict ownership. You buy a truck from Toyota, and while you own the vehicle, you do not own the blueprints. Open Source flips this concept on its head. It is software where the "blueprints"—the source code—are available for anyone to see, modify, and distribute. While this may sound like a recipe for chaos or a lack of professionalism to a traditional executive, it is actually the foundation of the most stable and secure systems in the world. From the servers that run the Tokyo Stock Exchange to the Android operating system in your pocket, Open Source is the invisible engine driving the global economy.

==December 4 -2025 The System Engineering Service (SES) model problem in Japan==

In Japan, for some reason this model has been widely adopted as a method for companies to procure flexible IT manpower.

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 =mintarc Team Blog=
+== March 30 - 2026 A Guide for the Japanese Business Leader with a FOSS Perspective==
+In the bustling business districts of Tokyo and Osaka, modern commerce moves at a speed that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. We see the sleek hardware, the glowing screens, and the seamless mobile applications that power our daily lives. Yet, for many business owners in Japan, there remains a fundamental mystery regarding the software that makes this all possible. There is a common misconception that software must be either a proprietary product purchased from a massive corporation like Microsoft or Oracle, or something built entirely from scratch by an expensive team of in-house developers. However, there is a third pillar that actually supports the majority of the modern world’s digital infrastructure. This pillar is Free and Open Source Software, commonly referred to as FOSS. To understand the modern economy, a business owner must understand that they are likely already using FOSS every single day, even if they have never heard the term.
+Understanding Open Source starts with a shift in perspective regarding intellectual property. In the traditional Japanese business mindset, a "product" is something finished, packaged, and protected by strict ownership. You buy a truck from Toyota, and while you own the vehicle, you do not own the blueprints. Open Source flips this concept on its head. It is software where the "blueprints"—the source code—are available for anyone to see, modify, and distribute. While this may sound like a recipe for chaos or a lack of professionalism to a traditional executive, it is actually the foundation of the most stable and secure systems in the world. From the servers that run the Tokyo Stock Exchange to the Android operating system in your pocket, Open Source is the invisible engine driving the global economy.
 ==December 4 -2025 The System Engineering Service (SES) model problem in Japan==
 In Japan, for some reason this model has been widely adopted as a method for companies to procure flexible IT manpower.