Open-source companies see profit aplenty

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Yes, Take Away Value

>> Reread Carroll's articles, they make the point quite nicely. Linux is an operating system. It supports the bottom of the stack. It implements well known functions, those for which a wide body of knowledge has grown up in universities as well as in companies. <<

So? The same is true for many technologies. If it were possible, should an Open Source group give away TV sets for free? If like with OSS, the only ones who make money in this new regime are the ones who service TVs, would this arrangement not devastate the TV industry? Wouldn?t it displace jobs in the electronics and retail business, curtail business, and have a very negative effect on our economy? Now imagine scaling this arrangement across all businesses. How would people find work? How would we be able to sustain our economy? The mere fact that OSS is able to implement well known functions and make them available for free is fine. But when licenses like the GPL do not allow the privatization of this work, but instead, push this work to compete against technologies that keep our economy going, how can this is be a good thing? This is precisely why proprietary companies are being a lot more hard nosed now about people using their IP ? then turning it against them. Many of the works now in OSS form were released by companies in the past (that is why in many cases they are there) only to find their own old technology directly or indirectly being used against them.

>> When is the last time there was any innovation in operating systems? The addition of GUI interface? Got a later example?<<

You?ve got to be kidding. Win XP has greater stability, can handle much larger files (at least terabytes large), has Windows Messenger integrated into it, has an improved GUI (in terms of layout, functionality, and look and feel), has better, easier-to-use networking, etc. Also if you consider the .Net framework as being part of Windows, the framework contains lots and lots and lots of innovations that can be taken advantage of (e.g. GDI+, the use of an event driven architecture for the development of web applications, web services) by a well thought out, easy to systems of objects. The .Net framework is a marvel of innovations that is simply staggering. I have never seen the caliber of analysis then went into that development system/platform anywhere before ? and an effort on such a large scale.

>> Of course Linux is not a growth product - it's an operating system. Expect it to underpin growth products, not be one. <<

Quite frankly you are one of those guys Mike Cox would refer as ?green screeners?. These guys keep pronouncing the end of the line for computers ? both software and hardware. There is still lots of innovations going on in OSs, other software, and hardware. Many of these innovations however are under the surface, and are that way primarily because that is the way the market likes it. The market for the most part prefers a smooth, incremental growth in technology, not frequent technology jolts.

Posted by: P. Douglas   Posted on: 05/20/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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