Re: why open source software is better

[Aaron Kulkis]

jtnews wrote:
> 
> I like open source software because
> it tends not to get cluttered by creeping
> featurism, the adding of superfluous
> and mostly unused features.  Therefore,
> you can understand it a lot
> easier and are more likely to be able
> to fix it yourself.
> 
> If the original author starts going in a
> direction that doesn't satisfy the needs
> of the users, the source tree can simply
> be replicated and a new author can take over.

Correction...a source-tree split occurs, as faction A and faction B
pursue their ideas of the best implementation.

Eventually, either A or B wises up, or faction C forms to combine
the best of A's and B's work, and throw out all the superflous shit.


> In this sense, open source software is
> one of the purest forms of competition.

Correct.

> 
> phil hunt wrote:
> >
> > Consider:
> >
> > 1. proprietary software must capture a market and get revenue from it; the
> > more revenue it gets, the more successful it will be, from a proprietary
> > software company's point of view
> >
> > 2. it can make more profits if it has no competition, because if there
> > is competition, the per-item sales price can reduce to near zero
> >
> > 3. one effective way of preventing competition is to stop competitors
> > from making competing software, by commodifying protocols, e.g. by
> > obfuscating or patent-encumbering them
> >
> > 4. therefore, commercially successful proprietary software will always
> > tend to harm users' interests in ways that open source won't
> >
> > This is my paraphrase of an argument is given in more detail by Ralph
> > Levien in his essay "The decommoditization of protocols".
> > <http://levien.com/free/decommoditizing.html>
> >
> > --
> > *****[ Phil Hunt ***** philh@comuno.freeserve.co.uk ]*****
> > "Mommy, make the nasty penguin go away." -- Jim Allchin, MS head
> > of OS development, regarding open source software (paraphrased).
> >

-- 
Aaron R. Kulkis
Unix Systems Engineer
DNRC Minister of all I survey
ICQ # 3056642

L: "meow" is yet another anonymous coward who does nothing
   but write stupid nonsense about his intellectual superiors.


K: Truth in advertising:
        Left Wing Extremists Charles Schumer and Donna Shelala,
        Black Seperatist Anti-Semite Louis Farrakan,
        Special Interest Sierra Club,
        Anarchist Members of the ACLU
        Left Wing Corporate Extremist Ted Turner
        The Drunken Woman Killer Ted Kennedy
        Grass Roots Pro-Gun movement,


J: Other knee_jerk reactionaries: billh, david casey, redc1c4,
   The retarded sisters: Raunchy (rauni) and Anencephielle (Enielle),
   also known as old hags who've hit the wall....

I: Loren Petrich's 2-week stubborn refusal to respond to the
   challenge to describe even one philosophical difference
   between himself and the communists demonstrates that, in fact,
   Loren Petrich is a COMMUNIST ***hole

H: "Having found not one single carbon monoxide leak on the entire
    premises, it is my belief, and Willard concurs, that the reason
    you folks feel listless and disoriented is simply because
    you are lazy, stupid people"

G:  Knackos...you're a retard.


F: Unit_4's "Kook hunt" reminds me of "Jimmy Baker's" harangues against
   adultery while concurrently committing adultery with Tammy Hahn.

E: Jet is not worthy of the time to compose a response until
   her behavior improves.

D: Jet Silverman now follows me from newgroup to newsgroup
   ...despite (C) above.
 
C: Jet Silverman claims to have killfiled me.

B: Jet Silverman plays the fool and spews out nonsense as a
   method of sidetracking discussions which are headed in a
   direction that she doesn't like.

A:  The wise man is mocked by fools.