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SourceForge Code Release
Precision writes "SourceForge, the opensource hosting service provided by VA Linux, has announced the initial code release. You can grab a copy here." SourceForge rocks my world.
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With places like server51, sourceforge, xnot, and all their ilk, any dork who can type gcc can enter the world of program creation... This is a good thing. It gets people comfortable with software creation and the tools used.
Microsoft is one of the biggest software manufacturers there is. Their products cover EVERYTHING. Yet not much else than Visual Basic is readily accessible by the average computer enthusiast. Why would it not be in MS's best interest to flood the market with dirt cheap or free copies of VC++ and development kits for the younguns to play with? Or do they do this already? Just a thought.
-troll taker
P.S. To CmdrTaco - Here is a box. [] This box was donated by Ghostbusters, Inc, and comes complete with Enhanced(tm) SlashSource Troll containment fields. Place the box under such a troll, and activate, using the enclosed remote (-=). This will completely enclose the Troll in a Mk #5 Force Field, which can be released safely into any nuclear reactor core, for disposal.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Chris
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Co-Editor, Open Sources
Open Source Program Manager, Google, Inc.
As for the usefulness of SourceForge code, you better believe it! I work for a small software shop - one that's too small to be able to afford to buy some Big Brand Name project management software. Not that that's ever really hurt us - we're using pretty much all the same tools that SourceForge is front-ending, which means that if I can slap SourceForge on top of the stuff we're already doing, whammo, I have instant web-based project management for our little company and the only thing it cost us was the time it takes me to get it set up! And besides, I'll have all the code that makes it run, so I can easily modify it to suit our needs if I need to! Yes, my time is valuable and I could have been out there working on pay projects, but I think the end-result is much more valuable to us than if we had bought some closed-box software of which we didn't understand the inner workings.
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My mom's going to kick you in the face!
Sourceforge is a long-term investment in Open Source. You can call it "giving back to the community", and it is that, but it's also about trying to encourage the development of more cool software. Hopefully, with better infrastructure, the Open Source coders of the world can put out better software more quickly. This is good for all Linux companies, including VA Linux.
At some level, this is no different from the developer support programs that Apple and Microsoft have. Those programs also cost Apple/Microsoft money; they're hardly profit centers! But given that with Open Source you don't have to tease developers with special programs so they can get the API's, we don't need standard developer support programs. But we can offer web sites like Source Forge which at some level is even more powerful. The goal is the same in both cases, though: to encourge 3rd party developers to write more cool software, thus enchancing the value of the platform. This strategy works for Windows and MacOS ---- why shouldn't we try to do something similar and support Open Source developers?
Don't you remember CmdrTaco saying in the recnt interview that everytime someone asks about it, he's going to delay the slash release by 24 hrs? We're already up to a couple of weeks' delay judging by the comments in this article.
Agreed, it seems miserly to withhold the code in an ostensibly open source project just because you don't like whiners. And I note that, because of human nature, not only does release time += 24hrs * complaints but complaints[N] += complaints[N-1]*2^delay ! (feedback loop) I.e., complaints increase delay, but delay also increases complaints.
But you guys aren't helping any. Write your own if you're so very impatient, and release it...start your own project.
Yep, we knew that the hardware we use the code on would make installing it (even with a large amount of documentation which it doesn't have right now) difficult.
In the end we figured that if even the login code or otehr stuff in the code helped out, it wouldn't be a waste to release it.
That said, I know tony and the crew are working to make the docs better. But developing the site is probably higher priority to them right now.
Chris DiBona
--
Grant Chair, Linux Int.
Pres, SVLUG
Co-Editor, Open Sources
Open Source Program Manager, Google, Inc.
Don't you remember CmdrTaco saying in the recnt interview that everytime someone asks about it, he's going to delay the slash release by 24 hrs?
Yes, I perceived that as arrogant and hypocritical, and I wasn't impressed.
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.