Hi Guys/Gals, I've been thinking about this topic for a while, I've been a follower of open-source for years now, I advocate for open systems where ever possible, that said, I have an opinion that I want to put out there and get your thoughts and inputs on the same.
Software is a set of instructions given to a computer to perform certain task or a set of functions. Weather the source code is open-source or free software or proprietary doesn't matter to the machine, since it is a machine it will perform any task given to it in a right manner. Recently open source methodology has exploded with many great projects and hundreds of thousands of contributers across the world. It is great for open-source ecosystem. Many developers/businesses has grown to expect open source software for any business critical infrastructure to avoid vendor lock-in. Open-source has been proven as the best way to develop software. My concern is, while open source is a great way to develop software. A software being open-source doesn't add much incentive to end-user to adopt or switch to the software. End user expectations are entirely different. Any software vendor that takes this into account, comes up with much better software. For Example, Internet Explorer had greatest market share when Firefox entered the scene, But, Firefox gained a significant market share because Mozilla was able to deliver a browser with much superior quality and end user experience. I believe when we deliver software with superior quality, beauty and ease of use, it gives user incentives to try out/switch softwares and we may not have to evangelize our softwares. -Sathish Manohar @sathishmanohar _______________________________________________ ILUGC Mailing List: http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc
