Please educate me - what successful software products have been developed via Open Source?
Of course the obvious answer is Linux. But are there others?
I certainly do not know all of them, but I can think of a few off the top of my head:
Apache - the most used webserver on the internet, more than twice as popular as IIS or any other competitor.
Samba - I don't have statistics, but very widely used and effective.
Perl - The defacto automation language of the Internet.
Python - A close runner-up to Perl.
Bind - Hard to argue with the success of this one.
Sendmail - You've used it if you've every used email.
As for Linux - is it truly easier to use than NT?
For the most part, I'd say no. But it depends on what you are using it for. It is much easier to automate and customize, so if your usage strays outside of the pattern envisioned by the original developers, then it is much easier.
Does it offer more advanced functionality than NT?
Again, depends on what you are using it for. I'd say stability and automation capabilities are it's strong suit.
And how much of Linux was actually developed via the Open Source method - and how much of it was created through the work of Linus.
Measured in bulk (lines of code), the estimate is that about 10% is still Linus' work. Of course, he does contribute in a supervisory role.
I would counter your claims by saying that your one example of Linux does not lessen the strength of the arguments I presented in my earlier post.
Now that I have given more, will you reconsider?
I agree that your arguments have weight, but I think it would be more productive to explore why the Open Source dev model is effective in spite of your insights. There must be something there, after all...
Have you ever worked in software development?
I am currently involved in a project similar in scale to your work with Microsoft. This is why I am interested in your opinions. You can read about it at debian.org
It is an international project, with over 500 active developers, and many more than that in a satellite role. It supports many different languages, which is similar to the Programs Group at MS. However, it is much broader in scope, as it covers applications, core OS and utilities, servers, documentation, and everything in-between. It also runs on many more architectures than MS products. The resulting product is also very large in scale, requiring 5 CD's to hold the complete thing.
Any insights you have that can be applied to this project would be appreciated.
-Mitch |
