Kuhn: Canonical, Ltd. Finally On Record: Seeking Open Core

I'd be very surprised if Mark Shuttleworth hadn't though a lot about going open core (not saying he has actually decided to pass the Rubicon). Do read the numerous articles Matt Assay wrote before his hire by Canonical. They were an repeated apology of this model (and if you think Alfresco is anything but open core, show me the distribution that managed to package a working copy of it). There is no way anyone would have hired Matt Assay unless they were already leaning open-core side.