Why open source is unsustainable (Financial Times) [LWN.net]

Why open source is unsustainable (Financial Times)

Posted Oct 22, 2004 18:46 UTC (Fri) by ccchips (subscriber, #3222)
Parent article: Why open source is unsustainable (Financial Times)

Here's what I view as the long and short of it:

Our industry has been replete with trade-secrets mentality ever since "consumers" chould have, and run, binary software. At the same time, there has never been any concerted effort to *prevent* such people from writing their *own* software, and then distributing whatever parts of it they choose. By this, in combination with some unique views espoused by the likes of Richard Stallman, it came about that people could *mandate* that their source code remain available to *anyone* who wished to use the binaries, and, further, setting guidelines that would prevent such source code from becoming the private, hidden property of some *enterprising* business-person.

Ultimately, we have a whole spectrum of views, and approaches, to the distribution and management of computer programs, ranging from completely public-domain, to proprietary, to "guaranteed public access to source."

I cannot see how such a "model" is "unsustainable," in light of the fact that anyone can *still* write, and distribute, their computer software in whatever way they see fit.

Is it possible we are looking at people who just don't *want* non-proprietary models to be sustainable?

(Log in to post comments)

Why open source is unsustainable (Financial Times)

Posted Oct 22, 2004 20:11 UTC (Fri) by mmarq (guest, #2332) [Link]

" Is it possible we are looking at people who just don't *want* non-proprietary models to be sustainable? "

Bulls eye

There is still a dominating view of computers as appliances that, i belive, traverse the domestic/SOHO, SME, and a large proportions of the Corporate world... everywhere where are *not maintained systems* or *poorely maintained* ones.

From the point of view of the sellers( the merchandizing view) Wintel was/is preceived as a hell of a metod to sell *aplliances*, where Windows is the drog, that makes everything flow... is not by chance that MS OSes seem so bloated at many times... is not by change the ever sky-rocket incrising resources recomended to run MS-OSes... it has made hardware prices drop like comets, but it has maintained selling at a reasonable pace...

From the point of view of the buyers!!... well most of them cant tell the head from the tail, at least in the *not* or *poor* maintained systems places... and to help a lot to the situation, the MSCEs dont help, because by principle they should not speak against their products... so buyers will buy, based on marketing propaganda/promotion,period.

IT IS THIS ECOSYSTEM THAT IS NOT SUSTAINABLE... because is a system that is based on the ignorance, poor information or misinformation of the buyers in order to be able to flow,... and is somehow stagnanting because of the ever incrising complexity of integration, and the ever incrising security problems... new more complex *appliances* dont solve those major points, instead they make them worst and expensive... so people try to understand better, and adquire a more pro-active wait and see, and that not only because of economic depression...

Open Source just blow all this wide open... and is unstoppable if is able to contribute to the pro-activeness, by the way of accessible instruction, like the LPI project, and solid standards...

I belive the old, decrepit, IT dominant forces are much more affraid than they are willing to tell, and even more so, because of financial issues that arise from their inability and incompetence.