Hi Frank, Reality is that Research must be free to explore and find new solutions to customer needs. Production development must sustain the business based on return on investment. Successful Corporations some how find a way to balance the two. Passing a solution from research to development is like transferring a sailor from one ship to another in a hurricane.
The obvious solution is to make the research solution the production development solution. An ideal seldom achievable. Each must have a different balance between freedom and responsibility. Based on it's business model, each Corperation must find it's own R&D model. FlexRadio is very unique in that it has a unique and free cadre of research and development folk to draw on. How far this model can be pushed, time will tell. The volunteers that like to work on the bleeding edge are like scouts. They like to live dangerously. Scouts are fascinated by Linux and Erlang. They are researchers. Explorers follow behind the scouts and clear the wilderness, put up cabins and occasionally fight indians. They are developers. These guys will convert Linux and Erlang to what ever provides the biggest ROI. Settlers are appliance customers and folks with profit and loss responsibility. If Flex is to be sustained as a viable (even if non profit) organization then it will need appliance customers. They are the bulk of a small market. If your business model is based on the 5000C style then details such as language and OS are hidden from the user, choices can be made on one set of parameters mainly performance and functionality with ease of maintenance/reliability thrown in. Do research in Linux and Erlang. Do development in Linux and Erlang. ( Don't forget if one day Erlang isn't supported the development must be done again.) If your business model is based on the 5000A style then you don't want language and OS to be a limiting factor for a customer making a purchase. Do research in Linux and Erlang. Do development in Functional C and Functional Windows or what ever M$ creates. If you business style is a mix of styles then the A style rules. Likely can't afford to carry two implementations. Because some of the flexers are scouts and explorers, you will have some customers who will always want to run a Linux/Erlang (research) version. This would be terrific. I think a very public involved research program suits Flexradio's SW world. As Flexradio succeeds, I'm not sure of the publics roll is in production SW development. My guess production SW development will have a paid professional core supported by volunteers. Well, best I can do Frank and probably too wordy. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "If I'd only had more time..." Flex of course will have to find it's own way. I only hope I can add a bit of my experience along the way. I for one, am sure Flex will succeed and will help any way I can. vy 73's Rob AB7CF On Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:08:31 -0500 "Frank Brickle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: On Dec 23, 2007 5:24 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: This will come sooner than later. Yes it's fun to play with Linux and Erlang. Yes L & E will provide a lot of understanding for the inevitable programming of PowerSDR in Functional C for Functional Windows. In the mean time please for the sake of us FlexRadio supports don't get confused about the end result. Also, please don't start a lot of rumors which might limit a budding market. Is there a reality-based point in here somewhere? 73 Frank AB2KT -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/attachments/20071223/44526c7a/attachment.html _______________________________________________ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
