James Turner: 5 problems with the Open Source community
There’s no question that the Open Source community has a lot going for it.
Besides a staggering amount of developer power that can be turned against
important problems, the Open Source movement also has a passion and
commitment to its work that the commercial software world often envies. But
sometimes, the Open Source community can be its own worst enemy. Here are a
few reasons why.
1. Too many developers “scratch the same itch.”
We hear that Open Source developers come up with new ideas because they
“had an itch to scratch.” In other words, there was some need they had
for a new application, and they “scratched” it by coming up with a tool.
The problem is, it’s not uncommon to end up with two or three (or more!)
d... (more)
Like many geeks, I find myself as the default support person for my family's
computers.
How this came to be is a mystery since I rarely, if ever, run any of the same
programs as the rest of my family. Months ago I spent the better part of two
evenings removing adware, spyware, malware, worms, and viruses from my
parents' computer which was running Microsoft Windows XP Professional. During ... (more)
Seemingly everyone has insight into the open source versus closed source
security debate. Each side provides plausible arguments for the benefits of
their own model and points out drawbacks of the other. The proponents of open
source argue that the source code is open and available for anyone to see,
for many sets of eyes to examine, and is therefore more secure. Opponents of
open source... (more)
For many sports fans worldwide, Formula One racing is the pinnacle of all
competitive racing. The degree of technology and skill that go into turning
one lap in a Formula One race car is unsurpassed in any form of racing. The
drivers are the world's best; the racing circuits the most demanding; and the
cars are masterpieces of design and form alike. Competition is fierce in
Formula One, ... (more)
WatchIT, a rich media company that produces education on demand, recently
released a six-part series of interactive programs titled "Linux Education
Series," targeted at executives and others who would like to learn about the
Linux platform and the world of open source. The series consists of six
programs ranging from high-level overviews of Linux to some fairly specific
steps for Linux ... (more)
Steve Suehring is a technology architect and engineer with a solid background in many areas of computing encompassing both open and closed source systems, he has worked with a variety of companies from small to large, including new and old economy, to help them integrate systems and provide the best use of available technologies. He has also taken a hands-on approach with many projects and frequently leads teams of engineers and developers, and has written magazine articles as well as a book on the MySQL database server. He has also performed technical editing on a number of other titles.
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