This is from today's ACM TechNews, see <http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=187202790>
for the full article. The Givers and Takers of Open Source InformationWeek (05/15/06)No. 1089, P. 44; Babcock, Charles The bulk of the work that goes into developing open-source software is left to uncompensated, mostly anonymous volunteer coders, while large companies to whom the software often plays a critical role could pull more weight by getting their own programmers to contribute. Apache Web Server project co-founder Brian Behlendorf partly attributes the comparatively low levels of corporate participation in open-source development to a cultural disparity: He says that whereas business programmers usually focus on the bottom line to the exclusion of all else, open-source developers have a "willingness to challenge authority, the passion to work on an interesting problem well past the end of the workday, and the time and space to be able to build the right solution to a problem rather than just the most expedient." Another factor discouraging big companies from contributing to open source is their reluctance to cede the rights to the software they develop, as dictated by the General Public License. Open-source hard-liners may actually welcome the large companies' overall policy of non-involvement, as it alleviates fears that too much involvement could degrade the quality of open-source software. Open-source coders are often generalized into two categories: Core contributors who undertake big projects and tend to hail from small companies, universities, government agencies, and consulting firms; and large-company employees who are more proficient at spotting glitches, testing code, and suggesting patches and improvements. Many corporate open-source users obtain their software from commercial open-source vendors, which can chill the impulse for altruism. The blunt criticism open-source enthusiasts apply to each other's work, which is so critical to the software's quality, is a rarity in large companies. The potential for hobbyists to make money from their efforts is also growing, which will complicate matters unless the profit-driven open-source development model and the purist model can find a way to live together. === Gregory Woodhouse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Metaphors be with you. ------------------------------------------------------- Using Tomcat but need to do more? Need to support web services, security? Get stuff done quickly with pre-integrated technology to make your job easier Download IBM WebSphere Application Server v.1.0.1 based on Apache Geronimo http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=120709&bid=263057&dat=121642 _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
