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On 22 Nov 2006 21:30:42 -0800,
Rex Ballard <rex.ballard@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> Democratization, Writing and Writing Code
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Advocates of free and open source software, myself included, like to
>> | talk about the "democratizing" effect of free software.
>
>> | Others, especially non-programmers, are quick to point out that the only
>> | technical people can take advantage of half of the enumerated
>> | freedoms in FOSS. The freedoms to modify and collaborate mean
>> | little if you don't know to program.
>> `----
>
> This sounds very much like the same thinking proposed by the Railroads.
> The car had a democratizing effect on the United States population,
> and gave them the ability to travel where they wanted, when the wanted,
> with family and friends, for a relatively modest price.
>
> I'm sure that the Railroads must have tried to maintain that the
> freedom to drive means little if you are not a mechanic.
>
> One of the key elements of the Ford mass-production vehicle, was that
> it was easily repaired by people who had basic mechanical training and
> aptitude. In emergencies, cotter pins could be replaced with hair
> pins, hoses could be repaired with chewing gum, and cables to breaks,
> throttle, and other engine controls could be repaired with pieces of
> wire from a fence.
>
> Eventually, nearly any place that sold gasoline also had the ability to
> repair the automobiles. At minimum they could do emergency repairs.
> This became a critical factor in the success of the automobile outside
> major metropolitan areas, since roads were often quite primative and
> factory trained repairmen where often extremely scarce.
>
> The mechanic became a "secondary" role. The driver didn't need to fix
> his car, he just needed to know which of the various fueling stations
> had reliable mechanics. And soon, the stations who had reliable
> mechanics were selling more gasoline.
>
> In less than 30 years, the automobile went from novelty to mainstream,
> eventually replacing the train as the primary passenger transport for
> all but the most specialized urban markets. By the 1950s, the freeway
> system threatened to displace the railroads completely.
>
> OSS is very similar in many ways. Users are able to purchase or
> download inexpensive OSS that contains not only numerous user friendly
> applications for collaboration and communication, but also the tools
> and frameworks used for many additional, more specialized needs ranging
> from project management, to process and workflow management, to
> e-business, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer systems.
>
> The important thing is that these tools can be quickly customized by
> "mechanics" who don't have to have the same training as engineers, but
> can quickly customize exiting applications based on existing
> frameworks, rather than having to "hand code" huge, complex, monolithic
> applications from low-level tools such as machine code, assembler, C,
> C++, or "core Java".
>
> interpretive and incrementally compiled languages such as perl, python,
> ruby, and sql, coupled with tool frameworks such as J2EE, PHP, Eclipse,
> and OpenOffice make it much easier to create customized solutions with
> much less effort. The complex frameworks hide most of the complexities
> of multithreadded programming, race conditions, deadlocks, resource
> pooling, and scheduling.
>
> This is one of the reasons why UNIX/Linux now dominates the server
> market in terms of function-points and volumes. UNIX/Linux servers can
> do more work, with less effort, and do it more effeciently, and at
> lower overall cost than Windows, MVS/CICS custom, and proprietary
> custom applications.
>
> UNIX/Linux is based heavily on public standards implemented in OSS
> reference models. Vendors may provide performance, security,
> stability, and scalability, but even Oracle or DB2 are bound by
> standards based technologies such as JDBC, ODBC, and industry standard
> SQL interfaces. Very often, an application can be prototyped in MySQL,
> piloted in PostGreSQL, and deployed in DB2 or Oracle. And the irony is
> that not all of the early prototype disappears. It's becoming more and
> more common to see some 'persistent objects' implemented in OSS while
> the business-critical functions are implemented in the high-end
> databases.
>
> But to the end-user, this is much like having paved roads, filling
> stations every 2 miles, and qualified mechanics every 10 miles. It's
> like having franchise restaurants every 10-20 miles. Today, millions
> of people drive 100 miles or more over week-ends, or holidays, or even
> on their daily commutes, knowing that they can find a safe road, a good
> hotel or motel, a good restaurant, and a good mechanic - whenever they
> are needed.
>
> You can get a meal at McDonalds, Wendy's, Denny's, Howard Johnson's, or
> any of a dozen other franchise locations - and you know that the food
> will be safe to eat. You can stay at a Holiday Inn, Marriot, or
> Hilton, and know that your luggage will be safe, that you will get a
> good night's sleep, and that your care will be there in the morning.
>
> OSS is creating similar environments for software. You know that your
> ODF document can be read by anyone who needs to read it. That your
> database will be accessible and sharable by those who need to view it,
> that your presentations will be viewable by those who need to
> understand them. McDonalds isn't a 5 star gourmet restaurant, but it
> provides a reasonably nutritious meal for a very reasonable price.
> Millions of people eat at "Fast Food" franchises every day. OO Writer
> may not be the most elegant word processor, but it's good for getting
> important information to anyone who needs to be able to read it.
>
>> http://www.advogato.org/article/909.html
>
Finally, an Auto analogy that makes some sense. Nicely put Rex.
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--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe
what you just said. --William F. Buckley, Jr.
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