Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261188AbTFUNdL (ORCPT ); Sat, 21 Jun 2003 09:33:11 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S262227AbTFUNdL (ORCPT ); Sat, 21 Jun 2003 09:33:11 -0400 Received: from hibernia.jakma.org ([212.17.36.87]:155 "EHLO hibernia.jakma.org") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261188AbTFUNdJ (ORCPT ); Sat, 21 Jun 2003 09:33:09 -0400 Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 14:46:01 +0100 (IST) From: Paul Jakma X-X-Sender: paul@fogarty.jakma.org To: Larry McVoy cc: Jesse Pollard , Stephan von Krawczynski , Werner Almesberger , , Subject: Re: [OT] Re: Troll Tech [was Re: Sco vs. IBM] In-Reply-To: <20030620164524.GH17563@work.bitmover.com> Message-ID: X-NSA: iraq saddam hammas hisballah rabin ayatollah korea vietnam revolt mustard gas MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2153 Lines: 57 On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Larry McVoy wrote: > No, I'm saying that you should dream up new stuff on your own > instead of complaining about the licenses of the software that > other people dream up. But this is not how innovation works. 99% of innovation is not "think up something new" but rather "improve upon what exists". Eg, Watt did not invent the steam engine, rather he improved upon the Newcomen atmospheric steam engine (Watt optimised out the use of atmosphere). The atmospheric steam engine built upon the work of an italian who used a bowl and tube mercury to demonstrate the fact that atmosphere exerts a pressure. etc... Innovation is the process of building on other people's ideas. You stated the following in another email: "Maybe a picture would help. Creating new software: $$$$$$$$$$ Copying existing software: $" Perhaps, if you consider that innovation is a building process, not a 'think of something completely new' process we could restate that as: Creating new software: $$$$$$$$$$ Building upon existing software: $ And possibly we might consider that the reason why 'creating new software' is so high is precisely because it refuses to acknowledge how innovation actually has worked throughout the ages, that its a process of building new ideas on old, refining what exists to make it better. That so much software is closed source and hence impossible to build on adds greatly to the cost and stifles innovation even further. So perhaps its actually commercial software (in the sense that commercial software is nearly always closed source) which is causing 'cost of innovation' problems in the software industry, not open source software. regards, -- Paul Jakma paul@clubi.ie paul@jakma.org Key ID: 64A2FF6A warning: do not ever send email to spam@dishone.st Fortune: Never let someone who says it cannot be done interrupt the person who is doing it. - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/