As Tasktop releases a new version, I (finally) realize that it is leveraging the "open core" business model that I'm a proponent of. Some of you will remember that I wrote about an interesting startup, Tasktop, earlier this year.Tasktop is a commercial product from the creators of the Eclipse Mylyn tool. Some of you will know/remember that Mylyn is a task-focused UI for developers using Eclipse. Tasktop applies this idea to general purpose knowledge work (i.e. not just for developers). As I wrote previously:So, for instance if I was working on a customer issue for work, researching for a blog post and writing a paper for school, I could switch between these three tasks and Tasktop would open/close the appropriate files, e-mails, Web pages etc. based on the task I’m working on. Searching for files becomes simpler because they are associated with tasks. Also, Tasktop tracks how much time I’ve spent on a given task.When Wesley Coelho from Tasktop e-mailed to give me a heads up on the Tasktop Pro Autumn 2008 release, I realized that Tasktop is a great example of an “open core” business model. The core of Tasktop is Eclipse Mylyn, an open source product. However, Tasktop Starter and Tasktop Pro add additional features and capabilities through commercial, closed source products. Very smart choice if you ask me. Tasktop offers a 30-day free trial, so give it a shot and leave a comment with your thoughts. A new version goes live on Wednesday. Among other new features, you can now run TaskTop on Linux and with Firefox.p.s.: I should state: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.” Open Source