I think Open Source is valuable to the end user in a different way from Open Standards. To use your example of Adobe PDF--the fact that PDF is an open format means that it can be incorporated in a lot of (open and closed) software in MacOS X, Linux, etc. This is very useful.
The Open Source idea is a different sort of paradigm. Let's say Adobe released the source to Adobe Acrobat. The PDF file format probably wouldn't benefit anything from this--it already benefits by being open. However, the software package /itself/ might benefit, especially if it were under a license that allowed other people to change the code and redistribute it. Thus many people might be able to improve the program, add their own features, find bugs, etc., in ways that otherwise would not be possible with closed source. To me, to open the source but not allow changes to be redistributed, or at the very least not allow changes to enter the main code somehow (perhaps I don't let /you/ redistribute altered code, but you can send your patches to me and /I'll/ add them to the main code and redistribute), that doesn't seem very productive. There are certainly some small advantages, but not many. The main benefit to end users seems to be that a number of additional developers can then work on the code that otherwise would be unable to. Depending on the size of the project and the number of additional, non-employed developers, this can be very or not very helpful. For example, Adobe Acrobat is a better product (imho) than xpdf, even though the latter is (afaik) open source. My guess is that, despite this, there are still more developers working on Adobe Acrobat than there are working on xpdf. ~ Ross On Wed, 1 Oct 2003, District Webmaster wrote: > So I've been thinking about something lately, and I'd like to hear > the list's thoughts on the matter. Bear with me before you get your > flame throwers out . . . > > I've been wondering how much the average end user really from Open > Source software -- does the fact that a package is OS make a significant > difference to a person who is not a programmer? Sure -- they could > pay a programmer to do some work for them, but in my experience, > it takes a fairly in-depth understanding of how a package works > before you even know if it _can_ (or ought to) be modified the way > you'd like. And then the cost of paying a programmer to add your > modifications may be prohibitive. > > Programmers, on the other hand, should generally have very positive > experiences in their role as OSS end users. They have the knowledge, > means, talent, background, moxie or whatever to modify source code > in meaningful ways. > > Now _Open Standards_ on the other hand, seem to be very beneficial to > the average end user. When the end user utilizes file formats, network > protocols, etc. that are based on open standards, they avoid vendor > lock-in. This means the consumer dictates to the vendor what level of > service is required. If the vendor fails to respond satisfactorily, > the consumer can choose another vendor. > > Take, for example, Adobe's pdf file format. The software Adobe makes > and sells is proprietary. The pdf format is essentially an open > one because Adobe voluntarily publishes very detailed information > about the format in a timely manner. The result is that a great many > software packages can create pdf files -- and there are also multiple > readers. The fact that none of us has access to Adobe Acrobat's > source code hasn't been a detriment to us -- but the fact that the > pdf standard is (essentially) open, has been a benefit to all of us. > > I'm not trying to suggest that open source software isn't important, > or good, or any of that. I'm just wondering if the greater impact > comes from open standards. > > Of course, I may be way off track. Please enlighten me. > > Dave > > ____________________ > BYU Unix Users Group > http://uug.byu.edu/ > ___________________________________________________________________ > List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list > ____________________ BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
