Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 11:57:25 -0400
From: Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com>
To: Larry McVoy <lm@work.bitmover.com>,
       Werner Almesberger <wa@almesberger.net>, Larry McVoy <lm@bitmover.com>,
       Stephan von Krawczynski <skraw@ithnet.com>, miquels@cistron-office.nl,
       linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [OT] Re: Troll Tech [was Re: Sco vs. IBM]
Message-ID: <20030620155725.GA3960@gtf.org>
References: <1056027789.3ef1b48d3ea2e@support.tuxbox.dk> <03061908145500.25179@tabby> <20030619141443.GR29247@fs.tum.de> <bcsolt$37m$2@news.cistron.nl> <20030619165916.GA14404@work.bitmover.com> <20030620001217.G6248@almesberger.net> <20030620120910.3f2cb001.skraw@ithnet.com> <20030620142436.GB14404@work.bitmover.com> <20030620121834.A1418@almesberger.net> <20030620152447.GB17563@work.bitmover.com>
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On Fri, Jun 20, 2003 at 08:24:47AM -0700, Larry McVoy wrote:
> The point I'm trying to make is could we please think about how create
> a world that is sustainable and based completely on open source?  There 
> are lots of people who say you can't trust anything but open source, the
> companies behind are evil corporate monsters just waiting to jump out 
> from under your bed at night and grab you (sorry, couldn't resist). 
> Seriously, if what you want is an all open source all the time, which
> would be fantastic in some sense, then how about a plan that shows how
> that will work?  Saying that open source is a child growing is a nice
> analogy but what's the grown up child look like?  Is this going to just
> be like the 60's flower children that grow up and turn into their parents
> after all?


Look at the scientific process for a model for how it can work, and how
people can make money.  Discoveries in science are protected for a
little while, maybe patented, but eventually make their way into the
general public.  Sometimes its immediate, sometimes it's eventual due to
business.

The wheel has already been invented, open source just wants to continue
building on that, rather than (as a proprietary app company does)
continually reinvented our own wheel, so that we can built upon.

Open source software has far larger opportunity to make significant
advancements in computer science, since the only thing you're ultimately
competing against is time and yourself.

That's the utopian view.  The pragmatic open source view says the open
source software works best for commodity products.  Focused, vertical
market products can certainly benefit from open source, but finding R&D
funding for vertical markets is so difficult that sometimes proprietary
software is the only way to go.

If we could solve the "software R&D funding" problem, then the world
would be doing nothing but open source software!  :)

	Jeff


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