nobody imitates failure
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| Author | Content |
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| grouch Mar 14, 2006 9:40 PM EDT |
Tom: "Open source" has become a part of the language. In spite of all attempts by the other side to ridicule it, the process of collaboratively producing software in the open has proven itself to be superior. Taunts, such as "open sores", have simply been absorbed, adopted and owned while the coding and testing and advances continued. As it became obvious that the juggernaut really was headed for world domination, naturally there would be some who would hitch a ride without assisting or even caring to assist. They have not taken the time to understand the difference between non-free, custom coding and proprietary software for distribution. They think renting black boxes is good for them and tying those black boxes to something open will make them easier to rent, i.e., "open" is perceived by the general software-renting public as superior. There are indicators of how much the term is respected. Note Microsoft's recent attempt to blur the lines and hitch a free ride with "Office Open" to combat OpenOffice.org. While searching for news about schools using Linux, I also tried "open-source schools" and came up with a story about "Iraqi insurgents": http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/103/essay-security.htm "But their single most important asset is their organizational structure, an open-source community network very similar to what we now see in the software industry. It is an extremely innovative structure, sadly, and results in decision-making cycles much shorter than those of the U.S. military." It certainly looks to me like the writer was trying to convey a sense of formidable power, using a term that would be widely recognized as associated with such power. It hasn't been that long ago when people thought Microsoft was the juggernaut. Why aren't those "open source pretenders" you wrote about calling themselves "WinXchange"? Do they see the cracks in the MS fortress? Nobody imitates failure. |
| tadelste Mar 15, 2006 5:35 AM EDT |
grouch: I wrote a very successful article called "How to Misunderstand Open Source Software Development". http://www.consultingtimes.com/ossdev.html When you Googled my name it was at the top of the hits. Lots of people republished the article and lots of people linked to it. I think you'll see that I did a fairly good job of explaining the open source collaborative development process. On the Linux Show, Eric Raymond said to me that the article was not about Open Source and therefore couldn't endorse it. Open source has a definition and it's not about collaboration, open code methods, etc. At the time, Eric was still the Chairman of OSI and we remained friends. Please don't take this as an argument form my side. I just wanted to give you an example of how easily one can misuse the term, Open Source. That's all I am saying. |
| grouch Mar 15, 2006 7:29 AM EDT |
Sorry if it sounded like I was arguing against the points you raised in "Cheapening Linux". I wasn't. My intent was only to try to give one explanation of why there are "pretenders" and why we can expect more. Thanks for the link. I hadn't read that before and only just scanned it now. Thought I'd better reply before finishing the read because I don't want misunderstanding. Let me be clear: I think Stallman's arguments are logical and inescapable. The distinction he makes between non-free software and proprietary software is important. A business which tries to straddle the fence by using open source as a platform from which to rent proprietary software is attempting to be a parasite and will not thrive for long. Renting proprietary software does social damage. Keeping non-free software in-house does not try to bribe others to give up their freedom and cease helping their neighbors. That non-free software _may_ cause problems for its owner because it does not have the advantages provided by an open development, open testing and open maintenance model, but at least it is not an attempt to bribe or extort others to be anti-social. Now I'm going to go read that article. Thanks again. |
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