Re: [PLUG] microsoft lost

[Steven J Pulito <stevenp@seas.upenn.edu>]

> Politics are politics.  Last time I looked, Linux was an operating system,
> not a philosophy.

True Linux is an OS, however it also happens to be the poster child for
the Open Source movement which is a philosophy.  I recommend reading Eric
S. Raymond's The Cathedral & The Bazaar (isbn:1565927249) which according
to Linus Torvalds is "how we did it." You can also enjoy his writings for
free online:
<http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/index.html>



> No, Open Source software isn't inherently superior.  It has a better
> potential to be superior.  Crap software is crap software, whether you
> have the source code or not.  Open Source didn't save Navigator.

I agree on 3 out of 4 points.  However I would say the verdict is still
out on the fate of Netscape.  Additionally while Netscape may not have the
browser share it once did the opening of the source was still a resounding
success.  By releasing the source code Netscape effectively prevented
Microsoft from taking an open standard (the http protocol) and embracing
and extending it to the point where it was no longer open.  The importance
here is not that people would be limited in browser choices, but that had
this happened Microsoft would have been able to lock up the server market.

Again check out ESR's writing s if you haven't they go a long way towards
explaining how open source can be a competitive advantage and it was these
papers that caught the attention of the Netscape execs and made them
decide to open the source.

-Steve  


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