Open Source Windows
Here's an interesting concept.
What if tomorrow, June 3, 2006, Microsoft announced that they were making all of their products open source?
Would Windows bugs be fixed faster?
Would there be fewer bugs in the first place?
Would people still complain that Microsoft is evil?
How many programmers would join in and help fix problems?
Would Windows be better?
Would your computer ever crash?
Would anyone donate money to keep Microsoft afloat?
What kind of ideas would programmers be able to put into practice?
It is an interesting proposition to me. I think Microsoft, right now, is in the unique position of controlling the dominant operating system that is installed on consumer's computers. Together, with the help of open-sourcing, they could produce and distribute the best operating system and suite of tools ever imagined. Except for the fact that Microsoft is unwilling to open source its code.
I think that, in the end, consumers are generally more satisfied with open source products than with products they have to pay for. Microsoft is losing customers, slowly but surely. They lost their browser dominance (well, are in the process of losing) to Firefox, and they are beginning to lose their operating system dominance to Mac OS X.
I saw the same trend back with Internet Explorer and Firefox (which was then called Firebird). Someone would say, "Hey! You should check out Firebird, it's way better than IE!" And someone might go check out Firebird, might get converted, and might spread the word. But now, if someone tries out Firefox, they are almost guaranteed to prefer it to IE. Because IE hasn't changed in years, but Firefox is growing by leaps and bounds.
Mac OS X is the same. Before, someone might say, "Hey Macs are cool!" And someone would try it out but dislike it because there was only one mouse button (sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself). But now, since it is based on FreeBSD Linux, it is fortifying the Mac advocates, and also drawing in some of the Linux crowd. And, more and more Windows users are starting to buy iBooks and shift their experience to the Mac.
[Note: I am fully aware that Mac OS X is not open-source. However, since it is based on FreeBSD, it's consumers still play some role in programming and improving the operating system.
Microsoft is, in my opinion, putting all of their eggs in the Vista basket. And, unless Vista has a successful launch, Microsoft is going to look around, realize that all of their products are being beaten by competitors, and be in a real pickle.
However, if they switched to open source right now, they might still have a chance. What programmer wouldn't want to put their hands on Windows Source Code and play around with it?
What if tomorrow, June 3, 2006, Microsoft announced that they were making all of their products open source?
Would Windows bugs be fixed faster?
Would there be fewer bugs in the first place?
Would people still complain that Microsoft is evil?
How many programmers would join in and help fix problems?
Would Windows be better?
Would your computer ever crash?
Would anyone donate money to keep Microsoft afloat?
What kind of ideas would programmers be able to put into practice?
It is an interesting proposition to me. I think Microsoft, right now, is in the unique position of controlling the dominant operating system that is installed on consumer's computers. Together, with the help of open-sourcing, they could produce and distribute the best operating system and suite of tools ever imagined. Except for the fact that Microsoft is unwilling to open source its code.
I think that, in the end, consumers are generally more satisfied with open source products than with products they have to pay for. Microsoft is losing customers, slowly but surely. They lost their browser dominance (well, are in the process of losing) to Firefox, and they are beginning to lose their operating system dominance to Mac OS X.
I saw the same trend back with Internet Explorer and Firefox (which was then called Firebird). Someone would say, "Hey! You should check out Firebird, it's way better than IE!" And someone might go check out Firebird, might get converted, and might spread the word. But now, if someone tries out Firefox, they are almost guaranteed to prefer it to IE. Because IE hasn't changed in years, but Firefox is growing by leaps and bounds.
Mac OS X is the same. Before, someone might say, "Hey Macs are cool!" And someone would try it out but dislike it because there was only one mouse button (sorry, sorry, I couldn't help myself). But now, since it is based on FreeBSD Linux, it is fortifying the Mac advocates, and also drawing in some of the Linux crowd. And, more and more Windows users are starting to buy iBooks and shift their experience to the Mac.
[Note: I am fully aware that Mac OS X is not open-source. However, since it is based on FreeBSD, it's consumers still play some role in programming and improving the operating system.
Microsoft is, in my opinion, putting all of their eggs in the Vista basket. And, unless Vista has a successful launch, Microsoft is going to look around, realize that all of their products are being beaten by competitors, and be in a real pickle.
However, if they switched to open source right now, they might still have a chance. What programmer wouldn't want to put their hands on Windows Source Code and play around with it?
posted by Alias:Kilroy at 4:01 PM
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