Comments on: Microsoft will Open Source Windows (or die!) http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/ Tom Raftery, social media consultant, speaker, blogger and podcaster Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:36:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: 4th guy http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-111052 4th guy Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:29:00 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-111052 @Jaime: "Open Source" does not mean it's free, it just means that the source code is available to view. You may still have to buy it before you can do so though. :) @Jaime: “Open Source” does not mean it’s free, it just means that the source code is available to view. You may still have to buy it before you can do so though. :)

]]> By: Mike Gallagher http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110972 Mike Gallagher Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:08:59 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110972 "With open source development, you are getting the “Wisdom of Crowds” - the more people involved in the development, the better the end-result" Read the Mythical Man Month “With open source development, you are getting the “Wisdom of Crowds” - the more people involved in the development, the better the end-result”
Read the Mythical Man Month

]]> By: Tom Raftery http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110969 Tom Raftery Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:16:06 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110969 That's a fair point Paul and I'm not about to argue the numbers as they were wild speculation but I think we both agree that programmers who self-select (your committed volunteers) are far more likely to produce a quality product than time serving employees! That’s a fair point Paul and I’m not about to argue the numbers as they were wild speculation but I think we both agree that programmers who self-select (your committed volunteers) are far more likely to produce a quality product than time serving employees!

]]> By: Paul Browne http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110965 Paul Browne Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:13:15 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110965 Read somewhere that I'd trust that Oracle (similar Corporation to Microsoft) has only 1 in 8 employees developing software. Even being conservative and doubling the numbers, that leaves under 20,000 developers for *all* for Microsoft products (knowing Micosoft's product range, my best guess would be only a third of these actively worked on Vista). That works out at 7,000 full time people. To discount the '100,000 developing Linux' (and having contributed to open source myself') I would guess that most of this number were one-off contributions. If we take a 1/10th as hard core developers, we're left with 10,000 hard core Linux contributors. So, the numbers are not that much different. But I bet on a group of committed volunteers over a bunch of (mainly time serving) employees any day! Read somewhere that I’d trust that Oracle (similar Corporation to Microsoft) has only 1 in 8 employees developing software. Even being conservative and doubling the numbers, that leaves under 20,000 developers for *all* for Microsoft products (knowing Micosoft’s product range, my best guess would be only a third of these actively worked on Vista). That works out at 7,000 full time people.

To discount the ‘100,000 developing Linux’ (and having contributed to open source myself’) I would guess that most of this number were one-off contributions. If we take a 1/10th as hard core developers, we’re left with 10,000 hard core Linux contributors.

So, the numbers are not that much different. But I bet on a group of committed volunteers over a bunch of (mainly time serving) employees any day!

]]> By: Tlhokomelo http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110963 Tlhokomelo Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:59:07 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110963 Open Source or die? Microsoft would rather die... As much of a great movement Open source is - by my understanding, it is purely based on freedom! Apple was born from an Open source society but soon Steve was no longer such a nice "player" because money and 'hacker freedom' are not really good for business. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If Microsoft could, in one fell swoop, get rid of their Windows piracy concerns, write better quality software, improve their corporate image, and radically reduce their development costs, do you think they would do it?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They would rather "try" to handle piracy than substitute it with "free windows" at least they still manage to sell something (several million copies) because as long as the most consumers are concerned "MS - windows + it's products" is the only way to get things done on the computer and as for the software brakes, "it's because of those bloody hacker" (bad code - does not even cross their minds) Microsoft is well branded and people are very brand loyal - in that order. The software quality would improve dramatically if they when Open and the speed at which security can be upgraded would also be sweet... Not to mention there could be less malicious software making a dummy out of the platform :-) If they go "Open" it would be sweet, but from a business point of view I suppose that would be the equivalent of death for MS. Open Source or die?
Microsoft would rather die… As much of a great movement Open source is - by my understanding, it is purely based on freedom!

Apple was born from an Open source society but soon Steve was no longer such a nice “player” because money and ‘hacker freedom’ are not really good for business.

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“If Microsoft could, in one fell swoop, get rid of their Windows piracy concerns, write better quality software, improve their corporate image, and radically reduce their development costs, do you think they would do it?”

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They would rather “try” to handle piracy than substitute it with “free windows” at least they still manage to sell something (several million copies) because as long as the most consumers are concerned “MS - windows + it’s products” is the only way to get things done on the computer and as for the software brakes, “it’s because of those bloody hacker” (bad code - does not even cross their minds) Microsoft is well branded and people are very brand loyal - in that order.

The software quality would improve dramatically if they when Open and the speed at which security can be upgraded would also be sweet… Not to mention there could be less malicious software making a dummy out of the platform :-)
If they go “Open” it would be sweet, but from a business point of view I suppose that would be the equivalent of death for MS.

]]> By: Tom Raftery http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110953 Tom Raftery Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:45:22 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110953 Sorry that should, of course, have read: Open Source is not a consumer play <em>yet</em> Sorry that should, of course, have read:
Open Source is not a consumer play yet

]]> By: Tom Raftery http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110952 Tom Raftery Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:36:26 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110952 @Robin - Open Source is not a consumer play - IBM sell massive numbers of Open Source solutions specifically to large corporations. @Robin - Open Source is not a consumer play - IBM sell massive numbers of Open Source solutions specifically to large corporations.

]]> By: Robin Blandford http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110951 Robin Blandford Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:25:18 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110951 Tom - you seem to constantly forget that MS sell to large non-tech corporations. These large corporations don't want opensource nor do they care for it. They want "a complete solution" provided to them by another corporation who are responsible for that solution should it all go wrong, in return they pay good money for it. It's a different world for consumers. Totally different. The stakes in this world change. Eitherway - MS will survive on corporates. Tom - you seem to constantly forget that MS sell to large non-tech corporations. These large corporations don’t want opensource nor do they care for it. They want “a complete solution” provided to them by another corporation who are responsible for that solution should it all go wrong, in return they pay good money for it.

It’s a different world for consumers. Totally different. The stakes in this world change. Eitherway - MS will survive on corporates.

]]> By: Michael Clarke http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110949 Michael Clarke Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:54:38 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110949 It's an attractive theory but IBM's big culture shifts came on the back knowing what it meant to lose, big time. I question whether an organisation that doesn't know what it's like at a deep experiential level to have power on a vast scale (and they weren't called Big Blue for nothing) taken away from it in a seismic way is capable of really embracing a model based on the giving of gifts. The dominant culture at MS would have to be turned upside down for that to happen, however much it might seem to those of us on the outside to be a beneficial, essential move. It’s an attractive theory but IBM’s big culture shifts came on the back knowing what it meant to lose, big time. I question whether an organisation that doesn’t know what it’s like at a deep experiential level to have power on a vast scale (and they weren’t called Big Blue for nothing) taken away from it in a seismic way is capable of really embracing a model based on the giving of gifts. The dominant culture at MS would have to be turned upside down for that to happen, however much it might seem to those of us on the outside to be a beneficial, essential move.

]]> By: Jamie http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110943 Jamie Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:27:59 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110943 Why would MS do opensource? Surely there is more profit in selling something as opposed to giving it away for free. Why would MS do opensource? Surely there is more profit in selling something as opposed to giving it away for free.

]]> By: eoin http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110941 eoin Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:12:06 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110941 "The next operating system they write would cost a fraction of the $10bn spent on Vista and would be much higher quality". I think it all pivots on whether MS understand the ecosystems surrounding successful free and opensource projects such as Ubuntu. I think they're only beginning to demonstrate this understanding with projects such as IronRuby. Creating such an ecosystem is essential to fostering the support of individuals talented enough to make this happen. I think turning the MS behemoth away from a closed model towards the free world will be a monumental task, and one that if fumbled would be devastating. “The next operating system they write would cost a fraction of the $10bn spent on Vista and would be much higher quality”.

I think it all pivots on whether MS understand the ecosystems surrounding successful free and opensource projects such as Ubuntu. I think they’re only beginning to demonstrate this understanding with projects such as IronRuby. Creating such an ecosystem is essential to fostering the support of individuals talented enough to make this happen. I think turning the MS behemoth away from a closed model towards the free world will be a monumental task, and one that if fumbled would be devastating.

]]> By: Colm http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110938 Colm Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:02:50 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110938 It's a good idea in theory, but sure Windows is a big money earner of Gates and his band of merry Redmond men? Could Microsoft survive on it's ancillary products alone? It’s a good idea in theory, but sure Windows is a big money earner of Gates and his band of merry Redmond men?

Could Microsoft survive on it’s ancillary products alone?

]]> By: James Gallagher http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110933 James Gallagher Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:38:04 +0000 http://www.tomrafteryit.net/microsoft-will-open-source-windows-or-die/#comment-110933 I'd say the speed at which new features can be brought to the platform is a major advantage on the side of Linux. Also, given the extent to which open source apps have been made cross platform I think diversity in user platforms is handled much better. I’d say the speed at which new features can be brought to the platform is a major advantage on the side of Linux. Also, given the extent to which open source apps have been made cross platform I think diversity in user platforms is handled much better.

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