Gatekeepers of open source innovation

Don't beat this tired drum, Dana: OSS innovates as much as other software projects, but innovation isn't often welcome. It's rare that some OSS project that's truly innovative (like BitTorrent, Miro, or Super Karamba) gets serious uptake. There are thousands of projects that get very little interest precisely because they are too innovative and different, and people want to use what's comfortable. Gnome 3.0 is getting criticism for this. OLPC's Sugar lost because of it. People wanted a WinXP-style interface. Tell me those two projects aren't innovative.

Look over Freshmeat for a while, and you'll find First Person Shooter file managers, true 3D desktops, and many others. If you're willing to look past the desktop, you'll find cluster software, mesh networks, and countless great projects.

In truth, Android is more innovative than you think -- innovative in its easy integration into Google Apps, and Apple's iPhone is less so. The iPhone is no big deal in Asian markets like Taiwan and Korea, where smartphones have been around for years and the original iPhone was derided as an incomplete knock-off with few features.

Innovation is hard. Most people copy. It's what makes humans great. Even those things that the public thinks are innovative are often mis-attributed to the wrong inventor.; Posted by: daengbo Posted on: 06/30/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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huh??? Linux Geek | 06/29/09

| 06/29/09

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