Collaborative software and the philosophy that “to enough eyes, all bugs are small”. It sounded so good, and the future was so bright.
What happened?
I have a theory: we all got broke.
The fact of the matter is, Open Source is wonderful – but ask most OS folks, and they’ll tell you, it doesn’t put bread on the table.
Now I don’t want to fight anyone out there on this, and I’ll be happy to be proven wrong, but the fact of the matter is, when you have to work all day, and then do a little free programming at night, what goes first when the job situation gets tough?
And while all night coding sessions are fun in the teens and twenties (I know; I’ve been there) what do you do when you get older and settle down – and the rent is due, and the kids need new school supplies in September?
Goodbye Open Source – and hello, closed source (paid) programming.
Now there are exceptions to this: the people that work on some of the most popular software are doing well, and some can make decent money. But compare those somewhat rare exceptions to the majority of people working on Open Source – and needing ‘real’ jobs as well.
And then compare the ceiling for those people: how many of those OS people will ever reach a Larry Ellison or Bill Gates in earnings?
I embrace Open Source. I think it is the future for software. And the quality is there (notice Apple’s success in using the Open Source FreeBSD operating system for the Mac). But obviously, there must be money in it. So here’s some ideas:
- Companies can be scared easily (such as with the FUD from Microsoft on patent infringement). We need someone to certify, insure, or otherwise provide legal comfort to allay their fears, and encourage them to migrate.
- We need to understand it better. The problem with Open Source is everyone wants to program, and no one wants to document. And if aficionados can’t understand it, then how can others? So reach out (ie pay money) and there will be no lack of people deciding to write documentation – and educating everyone on how to use all aspects of the software.
- Support needs to be front and center. Start new companies that exist simply to provide support of OS products. Have them do a per-month or per-call fee, and see how popular OS gets (or make it easier – sell a bundled OS program for a small price, and include 1/2 hour of free tech support).
- Focus, focus, focus. Until people agree on a single OS for each category (and for the operating system), then you have one big company (MS) against a rag-tag group of individuals. Guess who’ll win?
In reading this, it’s obvious the real issue – a centralized authority is needed to get cracking on getting Linux and Gimp and Open Office and other Open Source products out there in a professional manner. Some company that manages it all, from software to updates to tech, to programming to design to support, and makes gobs of money doing it. Somebody kinda like Microsoft.
Hey – maybe that’s why they’re so successful…
