Andrew
It wont be me - I havent managed to produce anything useful in software
in several years of dabbling. I suspect I will continue in my day job.
But the idea is intriguing. I wonder if the time is ripe for such a project.
We have gone round in circles for about 10 years by my reckoning with
standards committees/meetings/discussions etc etc but I think it is
fair to say that you and Horst and a few others are the only ones who
have produced anything substantial that is not proprietary.
We remain stuck with systems that have very significant limitations.
I have used 3 now in various jobs
I agree that all the things you say will probably happen if a free
system got up as it will threaten the status quo.
However OSS software has a record of producing useful products for free
- I dont personally use anything Windows in my home system. New systems
of collaboration have developed and I am aware of very significant
projects with useful outputs all on volunteer effort.
(look at the HPSDR list if you want to see a cutting edge digital radio
project).
If you are not trying to make money it doesnt matter so much if you get
criticized
Andrew N. Shrosbree wrote:
Richard,
Anybody who believes that an open source product will gain traction
without the support of a major financial backer is a naive idealist.
If you were to create something useful (and free) for doctors to use,
I propose that you quit your day job because this is what you can expect:
1. 99% of users expect it to be as easy to install as WinAmp.
2. Most users expect you to assist them with the most trivial
questions, regardless of whether they are paying you for the support.
If they can find you!
I think this is where there will be a commercial opportunity for someone
3. Interaction with other products will be demanded of your product,
and you will be undermined and sabotaged by the larger vendors
The key (and the hard bit) is a complete suite of tools - then you wont
have to interact except at standard interfaces
4. Your altruistic motives will be derided by your competition, with
doubt being cast on your true agenda
Again while it is not entirely clear yet, the group does not intend to
be in competition - this could be an important issue - what is the
commercial intent of such a project?
5. You will be vilified by the opensource community if you dare to
deviate from their puritanical, idealistic view of software.
Sticks and stones
6. Large companies will claim to cooperate with you, while using your
product as a pawn in their subversion of their competitors.
How? The code will be GPLed
7. Some government committee will threaten to define a "standard" some
time in the future, scaring the hell out of your users and undermining
confidence in your product.
Maybe that would be a good outcome - they havent managed to define too
many standards so far
Do yourself a favour, drop the idea. Slopping food for pigs in a
moslem country is less thankless, and the pigs won't drag you into the
gutter nor try to screw you.
Andrew
Dont worry - I am just an observer :)
R
Richard Hosking wrote:
I have struggled for several years(albeit part time and
intermittently) to get to the point where I could contribute to a
significant coding project. Still struggling with wxWidgets to write
a small demo app - I regard myself as reasonably able when it comes
to maths/electronics/assembly level coding, but I seem to be mired in
various interacting errors and not making much progress.
(Oh well maybe the brain is getting old)
Still there does seem to be a lot of interest for such a project.
It would be "subversive" - in the sense that it will be free to users
and the entity would make money out of installation and support. It
would undermine the current market players.
I think there is a lot of potential gain for somemone in the gap
between M$/proprietary licensing and hardware and a free Linux based
system
I would envisage a capable system with
accounting/appointments/medical software
Fair enough about getting buyin from larger groups - but if you are
not trying to make money, what does it matter?
A free capable system will surely get traction once a demo site is
available.
R
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