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Users as Innovators - Why Open Source Works
eaglemoon writes "Many people still have difficulty understanding why open source software projects are successfull. The Boston Globe has an interview with Eric von Hippel, a Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, on users as innovators. In his new book, von Hippel, discusses how open source projects draw on the creativity of ''lead users," who are often ahead of the curve on technology and marketplace trends. Von Hippel shows the trend already is more advanced than is generally known, and users often freely reveal their innovations for the common good. The social efficiency of a system in which individual innovations are developed by individual users is increased if users somehow diffuse what they have developed to others.....he also notes that the transition to user-centered innovation is hard for some companies to swallow.
The online version of the book is available under a Creative Commons license."
The online version of the book is available under a Creative Commons license."
My writing class had an open topic presentation, and some friends of mine and I just did a presentation on the Business and Development elements of open source projects :)
Check it out
http://neuclid.com/OpenSourcePres.pdf
http://siokaos.org/
The pdf paper isn't particularly informative, in fact it's redundant because you can find most of the information on the web, and the business plan suggested in the paper is completely one dimensional and is based around total cost of ownership. Real world business models are way more complex. The ones written by Michael E. Porter for an example.
Anyone thinking this is informative should gain some critical thinking and/or business skills.
Mod parent up. This is *exactly* the reason.
...
The first 90% is all of the fun stuff. Database access, rendering engines, networking layers...
The last 90% is all of the unsexy stuff. UI layout, tweaking and bugfixing. Pesky user complaints. That one case that violates the rule. Then the other case that violates the rule. Then
I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
I don't know about Linux, but Apache has the majority share of the web server market and is Open Source. Looks like it's working to me.
Linux may be a kernel, but linux distributions are operating systems.
It turns out that all the BSD babies have kernels as well.
Linux distributions can all run pretty much the same software, and in many ways all the major linux distros are far more similar to each other than the various BSDs are to each other.
I think what I'm trying to say is, I really have no idea what you're trying to get at, here.
errrmmmmm...have you heard of Apache - I hear its a really good webserver or PHP - I hear its a great web scripting language or wait Perl - the duct tape of the Internet?
Its real baloney when people say that open source is chasing tail lights. If you read the history of Unix - Salus has a good overivew - the users had a HUGE impact on how the system got developed and extended - and yes they were sharing source code then as well.
You are just buying corporate marketing if you belive that open source is simply copying commerical company innovations.
As von Hippel shows in his book - functionaly novel innovations come from users - and not from firms. Today user communities - as demonstrated by open source - are not just creating the innovations - but also making complete products out of them and then distributing and supporting them.
open what?