begin oe_protect.scr
Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> Open source creeps into mapping software
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| Licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), MapGuide Open
>| Source enables organizations to develop and distribute spatial and design
>| data over the Web.
>|
>| [...]
>|
>| "We think there is a direct analogy between what's happening in Web
>| mapping [software market], and what happened with Web servers in the
>| beginning," Zeiss said, noting that the trend toward commoditization
>| had convinced Autodesk to contribute MapGuide Open Source to the OSGF.
>|
>| "This was a strategic way of creating a much bigger market than we could
>| have ever created with a closed-source product," he added.
>|
>| With an open source product on its cards, Zeiss said Autodesk is also
>| following the footsteps of other open-source software vendors--that is,
>| to charge for premium services and support.
>|
>| [...]
>|
>| "To open-source AutoCAD will be giving away valuable trade secrets to
>| competitors. There's no prospect for doing that at all," he explained.
>|
>| IDC noted in a June 2006 report that it is too early to assess the
>| long-term impact of Autodesk's open source strategy. "But initial
>| indications are that geospatial users and the open source community are
>| responding positively, perhaps to the point of shifting Web-based
>| geospatial interfaces to a predominantly open source model," the
>| analyst company said.
> `----
>
> http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,61952140,00.htm
The calculation is a very simple one. If a vendor has a sizeable market
share, they'll stick with proprietary code. Once their market share
drops to a point which they believe that they cannot recover from, then
open-source looks much more promising.
The approach has been successful in some cases, and might have been
enough to pull Java from the edge of annihilation, but Netscape left it
far too late, and the jury is out on many other examples.
One thing which is often not realised is that the coding standards of
open-source are so high that complex projects could be some years before
reaching the level of maturity required to be a success in the FOSS
world. Conversly, it appears that the final "advantage" of proprietary
code is that poor quality code is often sufficient, when combined with
appropriate kinds of lock-in.
As I said above, it's a calculation, nothing more.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
"... freedom ... is a worship word..."
"It is our worship word too."
-- Cloud William and Kirk, "The Omega Glory", stardate unknown
|
|
