While profitability is important for emerging companies, for most established companies increased revenue=increased profits. Profit margins are something else entirely. You don't want to help your competition. They might come along at some point in the future and cause you harm. Go ask Steve Jobs if this is true.
The goal is to kill off the competition. It works for Microsoft. Say what you will about MS products, the company is the most PROFITABLE (read highest profit margin) company in S&P 500. An it will work for Oracle. In a decade, Peoplesoft will be a forgotten name. This "rising tide" argument is crap becusase it fails to recognize that most markets are a zero-sum game. There are only so many dollars to go around and each firm is competing to secure the largest portion of this limit pool. If I secure a large enough share of these dollars, I can suck the air out of the market and force out my competitors. I'll worry about profit margins later.
Not everyone wants to have the potential to customize their software. Some people just want the software to work and they want someone to blame when it doesn't.
Plus, open source software is only open to programers who know the language the software is written in. Do you realize how substantial an infrastructure investment is required for a organization to have the ability to custmoize an OS package? It is easier, and cheaper, in most business cases to pay for a close sourced product.
If no one is going to create a competive product, then what's the point? What use would it be? There is only two I can think of: People would strip parts out to use in other projects, in which case MS is giving free work away at worst or at best is educating its competition.
MS has paid people to write this code. If I paid a bunch of people to write code, I'd want to be compensated if someone eventually made money from it. OS should begin, persist, and end as OS.
"Open Source is good." - everyone Microsoft's beaten in business.
Linux's only immediate threat is to Unix flavors.. so why would Sun be an OS advocate? Becuase its personal....Sun is sacrificing its self on the "Anything to Kill M$" alter.
P.S. - I love Linux, but I am married to Microsoft.
I am fascinated by the XML comparison made in Tim's argument. If there are similiar market forces between the move to XML and the move to Open-Source, why is Microsoft Embracing one and attacking the other? What exactly is the similiarities between these two forces?
If everyone agrees to pump the same water through their pipes it is one thing. Getting everyone to stop building their own proprietary piping systems and contribute to a centralized piping system design, it another thing. Apples and Oranges.
I wonder what application NanoTechnology could have in the display of holographic images. The tiny robots could server to form the shape of the 3D object, and allow light to reflect from them, or better yet product the light themselves. Or maybe I've read one too many Crichton novels.
I can't a imagine a prison "nerd" whose not someone's b**ch. The rest of the population loses their favorite video games, they're probably going to be looking for altenative sources of entertainment.
Which ties mascots to specific time periods. It's alot like teen idols. They have a shelf life becuase the targeted demographic grows up. The NES,SNES, and N64 Mario titles were huge with the kids of the time. I am included in this group (I loved the NES Super Mario Bros.) Now, however, I won't make the impulse buy based on just a character. So, I am now a harder sell. My younger nephew, however didn't have the same great gaming experiences with Mario, so Mario isn't an icon for him anymore.
You've got to wonder if this isn't a trend that has larger consequences.
Photo storage has traditionally been a "OS" centric activity. Peronsal photos tend to be exactly that, personal. But if users are willing to store (and trust) personal information on (to) public internet sites, then why not display the same trust will all but your password files. If I can store my email on GMail, my photos on-line, and my documents online, what's left for the average user? If I am an average joe (and am not hiding a secret porn stash) then why not store the majority of my digital information on-line.
At some point Microsoft or the Linux-folks are going to have to realize that OS systems design to manage data on just-local drives are woefully inadequate.
What needs to be done is to focus on the kids who are the bullys and punish them for bullying others.
The two students from Columbine were acutely interested in killing off "jocks". I can attest to the fact that the sports programs at both my high school and college were so revered, that players attained demi-god status. Such status needs to promote the belief of superiority. This belief tends to lead to the type of bullying the two Columbine students suffered.
The point is: Any real solution to the bullying problem will require serious work to change the nature of many powerful and deeply intrenched educational institutions. It is easier adopt a "simple" solution of further ostracizing the "nerds".
Assuming you desire to eventually acquire a pointy hairdo:
Graduate degrees are becoming so pervasive (especially cheap MBAs) that management applications of the future will need one just to compete. I work in the ISD department of the 6th largest city in California and all of our managers have MBAs. The local state Univ. has a cheap and easy MBA program that spits out MBA graduates. With increased competition from abroad, graduate degrees are becoming a minimum for management.
Most tech jobs in most companies sit only 2 or 3 positions (in the org. chart) below a manager whose job is entirely business centric (i.e. not technical). Most software development is still governed by business-market-forces. Even here in the public sector, managers are required to have business savy (i.e. MBAs). Thus, in most organizations, coders grow up to be managers that are required to have business smarts.
Presumably is Ballmer is giving out his email address at speaking events, he's doing so to encourage feedback. But if only 10 emails are actually read... is his request for feedback a hoax?
Others think that kind of irrational exhuberance is good for no one and think $199 is a decent take-home for a good days' work.
This is an issue of values. Some people are content with "just enough", so are driven to pursue more. It is a person's values that determine what to pursue in life. The open source issue is one of values. Stallman philosophisizes on the issue of open source software. His defense of OSS is not economic ro business-strategic, it is philosophical. In Stallman's value system, OSS is a noble pursuit.
Software development is simply the medium through which Stallman and Gates articulate and express their value system. If each were painters, Stallman would donate all of his paintings to a museum, and Gates (like Thomas Kinkade) would seek to profit off of it.
If you're going to scrutinize Gates' value system, then you must do so in light of American Capitalistic culture. Gates is a product of this culture.. in fact he's the crown jewel of such a culture.
Your analogy of a car is not complete. The Operating System is the car (let's use a truck). All of the elements of that Operating System,processes or sub-applications (file system, drivers, etc), relate to the steering wheel, speed indicator, seats, gear shift, etc.
However, the applications that you install on that Operating System can be compared to the utility functions of truck. So a Office Suite can compare to a truck-bed camper, or a trailer hitch, or the trailer itself. Maybe you throw some shelving in the back of the truck, or a wielding unit. This would compare to your web server apps or your database apps.
That having been said.. I would expect Ford to offer trailer hitches that fit any trailer in the industry. Or if Ford decided to start making trailers, I would want that trailer to work on my Toyota, Dodge, or Chevy. You see, Microsoft is in the business of making trucks, campers, camper-shells, trailers, weilding units, bed cabinets, etc. But those utility features only work for Microsoft's 'trucks'. No one else's trucks.
Consider this (however)... If 90% of America drove Ford cars. And 40% of companies bought Ford work trucks.. Why would Ford make utilities modules for anything but their own autos.
The innovative ideas come from individuals. The implementation of these ideas come from teams.
Successful innovation requires 2 components. The innovative idea and the method by which that idea becomes a reality. The innovative people do not neccessarily have the experience or skills to organize the operational or logistic issues that involve bringing an idea into reality. Plus, if the idea is worthwhile, the logistical issues are going to require the participation of more than one person.
but not enough to pay for it, then it means my prices are too high or my content just isn't good enough for them.
In a market economy, supply and demand seeks equalibrium. Your point is VERY accurate. If kids don't want to pay $16.00/CD maybe musicians are overpaid.. why is Britney Spears a multi-millionaire (endorsements excluded)? None of Hugh Hephner's girls are..
What if the very companies that you just ripped off, have been shouting self-gratification-above-all-else for that past two decades. If, when living by this credo, you decide you don't want to follow the rules... how can those companies blame you?
Not all, but a significant portion of the profits of the RIAA members have come from music that promotes philosophies that are being acted out by music pirates. When Death Row records puts out rap CDs (not all rap is evil) were violence, crime, and murder are celebrated, how can they claim to have a righ to ask kids to stop stealing thier music?
Death Row may or may not be a member of the RIAA, but the larger idea I am pointing at is the world view that expressed is contemporary pop music. Not all RIAA members sell the extreme type of music I mention above, but all of them market music that praises complete self-indulgence. I am not advocating censorship, nor is this a tirade against 'evil rock-and-roll'. Instead I wonder how RIAA members can condemn music listeners for living by philosophies that they made money from for such a long time.
Slashdot Mirror
Much like the classic movie "Time Machine". The worker class and the affluent class.
Quality vs. Quantity... also an economics dilema.
While profitability is important for emerging companies, for most established companies increased revenue=increased profits. Profit margins are something else entirely. You don't want to help your competition. They might come along at some point in the future and cause you harm. Go ask Steve Jobs if this is true. The goal is to kill off the competition. It works for Microsoft. Say what you will about MS products, the company is the most PROFITABLE (read highest profit margin) company in S&P 500. An it will work for Oracle. In a decade, Peoplesoft will be a forgotten name. This "rising tide" argument is crap becusase it fails to recognize that most markets are a zero-sum game. There are only so many dollars to go around and each firm is competing to secure the largest portion of this limit pool. If I secure a large enough share of these dollars, I can suck the air out of the market and force out my competitors. I'll worry about profit margins later.
Barbie said 'Math Class is Tough'... Not Math itself. The part Matel left out was "Math Class is Tough when the teacher is ogling you."
Plus, open source software is only open to programers who know the language the software is written in. Do you realize how substantial an infrastructure investment is required for a organization to have the ability to custmoize an OS package? It is easier, and cheaper, in most business cases to pay for a close sourced product.
MS has paid people to write this code. If I paid a bunch of people to write code, I'd want to be compensated if someone eventually made money from it. OS should begin, persist, and end as OS.
"Open Source is good." - everyone Microsoft's beaten in business.
Linux's only immediate threat is to Unix flavors.. so why would Sun be an OS advocate? Becuase its personal....Sun is sacrificing its self on the "Anything to Kill M$" alter.
P.S. - I love Linux, but I am married to Microsoft.
If everyone agrees to pump the same water through their pipes it is one thing. Getting everyone to stop building their own proprietary piping systems and contribute to a centralized piping system design, it another thing. Apples and Oranges.
I wonder what application NanoTechnology could have in the display of holographic images. The tiny robots could server to form the shape of the 3D object, and allow light to reflect from them, or better yet product the light themselves. Or maybe I've read one too many Crichton novels.
I can't a imagine a prison "nerd" whose not someone's b**ch. The rest of the population loses their favorite video games, they're probably going to be looking for altenative sources of entertainment.
Software algorithms sufficiently complex so as to appear as though heuristic. This seems to be a new application for AI.
And to think... this guy was the brains behind the Iraqi WMD intelligence!
Internets are for terrorists.
Which ties mascots to specific time periods. It's alot like teen idols. They have a shelf life becuase the targeted demographic grows up. The NES,SNES, and N64 Mario titles were huge with the kids of the time. I am included in this group (I loved the NES Super Mario Bros.) Now, however, I won't make the impulse buy based on just a character. So, I am now a harder sell. My younger nephew, however didn't have the same great gaming experiences with Mario, so Mario isn't an icon for him anymore.
Sure, but what about a private stash. The one with the home photos of the Klingon swingers party.
Photo storage has traditionally been a "OS" centric activity. Peronsal photos tend to be exactly that, personal. But if users are willing to store (and trust) personal information on (to) public internet sites, then why not display the same trust will all but your password files. If I can store my email on GMail, my photos on-line, and my documents online, what's left for the average user? If I am an average joe (and am not hiding a secret porn stash) then why not store the majority of my digital information on-line.
At some point Microsoft or the Linux-folks are going to have to realize that OS systems design to manage data on just-local drives are woefully inadequate.
The two students from Columbine were acutely interested in killing off "jocks". I can attest to the fact that the sports programs at both my high school and college were so revered, that players attained demi-god status. Such status needs to promote the belief of superiority. This belief tends to lead to the type of bullying the two Columbine students suffered.
The point is: Any real solution to the bullying problem will require serious work to change the nature of many powerful and deeply intrenched educational institutions. It is easier adopt a "simple" solution of further ostracizing the "nerds".
Assuming you desire to eventually acquire a pointy hairdo: Graduate degrees are becoming so pervasive (especially cheap MBAs) that management applications of the future will need one just to compete. I work in the ISD department of the 6th largest city in California and all of our managers have MBAs. The local state Univ. has a cheap and easy MBA program that spits out MBA graduates. With increased competition from abroad, graduate degrees are becoming a minimum for management. Most tech jobs in most companies sit only 2 or 3 positions (in the org. chart) below a manager whose job is entirely business centric (i.e. not technical). Most software development is still governed by business-market-forces. Even here in the public sector, managers are required to have business savy (i.e. MBAs). Thus, in most organizations, coders grow up to be managers that are required to have business smarts.
Presumably is Ballmer is giving out his email address at speaking events, he's doing so to encourage feedback. But if only 10 emails are actually read... is his request for feedback a hoax?
or switching its model to include guarantees if it wishes to be a major seller of new products.
Such a change would move it closer to Amazon.com's business model.
This is an issue of values. Some people are content with "just enough", so are driven to pursue more. It is a person's values that determine what to pursue in life. The open source issue is one of values. Stallman philosophisizes on the issue of open source software. His defense of OSS is not economic ro business-strategic, it is philosophical. In Stallman's value system, OSS is a noble pursuit.
Software development is simply the medium through which Stallman and Gates articulate and express their value system. If each were painters, Stallman would donate all of his paintings to a museum, and Gates (like Thomas Kinkade) would seek to profit off of it.
If you're going to scrutinize Gates' value system, then you must do so in light of American Capitalistic culture. Gates is a product of this culture.. in fact he's the crown jewel of such a culture.
However, the applications that you install on that Operating System can be compared to the utility functions of truck. So a Office Suite can compare to a truck-bed camper, or a trailer hitch, or the trailer itself. Maybe you throw some shelving in the back of the truck, or a wielding unit. This would compare to your web server apps or your database apps.
That having been said.. I would expect Ford to offer trailer hitches that fit any trailer in the industry. Or if Ford decided to start making trailers, I would want that trailer to work on my Toyota, Dodge, or Chevy. You see, Microsoft is in the business of making trucks, campers, camper-shells, trailers, weilding units, bed cabinets, etc. But those utility features only work for Microsoft's 'trucks'. No one else's trucks.
Consider this (however)... If 90% of America drove Ford cars. And 40% of companies bought Ford work trucks.. Why would Ford make utilities modules for anything but their own autos.
Successful innovation requires 2 components. The innovative idea and the method by which that idea becomes a reality. The innovative people do not neccessarily have the experience or skills to organize the operational or logistic issues that involve bringing an idea into reality. Plus, if the idea is worthwhile, the logistical issues are going to require the participation of more than one person.
In a market economy, supply and demand seeks equalibrium. Your point is VERY accurate. If kids don't want to pay $16.00/CD maybe musicians are overpaid.. why is Britney Spears a multi-millionaire (endorsements excluded)? None of Hugh Hephner's girls are..
What if the very companies that you just ripped off, have been shouting self-gratification-above-all-else for that past two decades. If, when living by this credo, you decide you don't want to follow the rules... how can those companies blame you?
Not all, but a significant portion of the profits of the RIAA members have come from music that promotes philosophies that are being acted out by music pirates. When Death Row records puts out rap CDs (not all rap is evil) were violence, crime, and murder are celebrated, how can they claim to have a righ to ask kids to stop stealing thier music?
Death Row may or may not be a member of the RIAA, but the larger idea I am pointing at is the world view that expressed is contemporary pop music. Not all RIAA members sell the extreme type of music I mention above, but all of them market music that praises complete self-indulgence. I am not advocating censorship, nor is this a tirade against 'evil rock-and-roll'. Instead I wonder how RIAA members can condemn music listeners for living by philosophies that they made money from for such a long time.