asj wrote:
> To put it respectfully: BS. Now they can compete with you on service
> and support (which commercial entities also compete on) - this simply
> means there is less to differentiate you from your competitors.
>
> I've never really understood what was so great about the open source
> ecosystem model...it doesn't make sense because i see no positives
> about it except for one thing - the ability to create extremely complex
> apps with less problems because of the tons of people you can get to
> work on it on the cheap. Unfortunately, 99.999999% of open source
> projects don't fit this optimum as there is no monetary motivation for
> most projects.
>
> It's the same as communism - it looks great on paper and it surely
> would have made a better world theoretically - EXCEPT human beings are
> inherently selfish and a system like that would not work well in human
> societies because of this flaw in human nature.
>
> You can put out all the examples of opens source eating away at
> commercial entities, but what exactly does that prove? When one thing
> is free or almost free and the other side costs mucho dinero, the
> consumer usually will pick the free or cheap one so long as the
> features and performance are similar. So what does that show?
> Basically, it shows other companies that it doesn't pay to do research
> because they can't compete with companies that simply use free labor
> from developers. So who does this hurt int he end? Developers! It
> commoditizes software development, and takes away a source of high
> income from developers. Unless of course those developers like doing
> service and support....
Before you start cursing me and hurling stuff, let me clarify...i still
think the open source model, when it reaches some level or tipping
point where an onrush of developers contribute freely to the project
and the project becomes self-sustaining, is the best development model
out there in terms of producing large, complex software. Nothing can
beat it, not even microsoft with its billion dollar war chest. In this
sense, i think open source will slowly overwhelm even microsoft in the
end, simply because the windows OS has grown so complex and large not
even a dominant company like MSFT can continue to grapple with the
complexities inherent in its structure.
I just don't think open source should take over the world because i
think it hurts developers in the long run.
On another subject, i am still vehemently anti-microsoft - not because
microsoft uses proprietary software, but because its monopoly (or near
monopoly) stifles competition and hinders innovation. Monolithic
entities are almost always less innovative than a very diverse
environment with many competing entities.
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