On Monday 27 November 2006 19:24, NZ DA wrote: > I am beginning to understand that my notes and billing system is better if > it is "open source", but why should I care if this is open source? I don't > care who moves my mail, or how, just as long as it arrives in my post box. > Same with Telecom. I don't care if they use a piece of wet string, as > long as I can make a call.
I guess you picked the wrong example with Telecom in this Telstra scarred country - best example any Australian will understand why you never want to depend on a single provider or be locked into a single provider no matter what. As long as a program works fine and is maintained by the vendor, the difference between having access to the source code or not to the end user is probably zero (unless there are security concerns). Those who are in it for the long haul want to ensure continuity of service. One way of ensuring this could be that a proprietary software company deposits their source code in escrow - to be released whenever the company goes belly up, or abandons the software, or is unable to fix a problem or user request for it within reasonable time for reasonable money: however, I am not aware of any company doing this. Several list members here have been left deeply hurt by the sudden and unexpected demise of Australia's then second most popular medical software package (MIMS script) - surprisingly, there are some humans who appear to learn from past mistake and experiences, though I concede that they are a tiny minority. In the mere 8 years I have been practising in Australia, my practice has already been stung twice by the unexpected demise of software vendors - the associated trouble costs SEVERAL TIMES what the software costs. Most companies sadly fail to understand this. I guess many hide their code in shame of the poor quality of the code, or because it would thwart their vendor-lock-in plans. Else, there is no real advantage in withholding source code from your customers - there is no black magic no sophisticated engineering, absolutely nothing new nor unique, in the source code of an EHR system. If a company had a good product and the option of getting the source code for twice the money of the closed version - I'd happily pay. I am not known to waste my money. But I am not so stupid that I put all my eggs into a single proprietary basket. Horst _______________________________________________ Gpcg_talk mailing list [email protected] http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk
