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Technology Stocks : Red Hat Software Inc. (Nasdq-RHAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Margarita who wrote (1023)	9/8/1999 12:17:00 PM
From: Eric Wells	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1794

Red Hat Paradox Number 2: Open Source Linux Many are claiming that because Linux is an Open Source operating system, it has advantages with regard to its development process over "closed source" operating systems such as Windows NT. However, no one seems to ever talk about the potential disadvantages of Open Source. I've worked on many software development projects, and it is hard to imagine a greater nightmare than trying to develop a software product where the developers are widely dispersed and have nothing holding them together other than a commitment to Open Source. The most obvious nightmare scenario is one in which one group of Linux developers creates a module that is incompatible with a module created by another group of Linux developers. And what about bugs, or code documentation? And then there is the problem of version control - Open Source introduces the risk of there being multiple versions of Linux in use (I'm not talking about 1 or 2 versions - I'm talking about thousands). This is a nightmare scenario for the CIO or IT manager that is deciding what operating system to purchase. If anything, it would seem to me that the bureaucratic overhead that would be necessary to hold an Open Source project (such as Linux) together would greatly slow the process of innovation. Companies like Red Hat might be forced to limit innovations in their versions of Linux to those they develop in-house - such an eventuality would totally nullify any advantage that might be gained from Open Source. Aren't any of the RHAT longs or Open Source advocates on this thread concerned about these issues? Thanks, -Eric Wells