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1. The Open Source Front. RE: Computers.

2003-05-19t19:38:00Z | RE: Computers.
The Open Source Front

Oh man, these are exciting times! Why bother to read the sports section when there are IT wars going on?

There are several things going on at the same time.

• Open source (o/s) as a model for development.
• Linux as an o/s variation of UNIX operating systems (OSs) that runs on multiple hw systems.
• 64 bit CPUs are coming out by Intel and AMD.
• Microsoft has 64 bit OSs and apps coming out.
• People are clustering, gridding, etc., and in general using more parallel processing.

The big battle is in the midrange/mainframe/supercomputer arena. The supercomputers of the 60s have the power of wrist watches the 80s. The supercomputers of the 90s are becoming no more powerful than current department level servers. This is expected with Moore's Law growth.

Companies can save on the OS end and the HW end. Linux admins will be needed but UNIX admins should be able to pick up Linux easily.

Large companies can save on the app end. Apps that were formerly closed source are converting to o/s, but is not free in either case. This way the companies have the advantage of support from the app maker but also have the freedom to tweak the app as needed. The "danger" is over tweaking. A company may modify the app so much that they will be entirely reliant on the in house developers. Smaller companies that don't tweak the app won't care if the app is closed or o/s.

Large app companies may fear opening their source code. However, if your app is complex enough, you may have nothing to fear. Smaller app makers may want to avoid o/s since it would be easier to steal their ideas, although on the other hand, o/s may be the best solution for some problems. EGs:

• MS has opened its OS code to certain government level entities such as China, Russia, and the UK. I haven't heard if they've opened up their source code to the US!
• The biggest Linux company is Red Hat and the source may be open but the SW is proprietary and not free (but cheaper than MS|Sun). Red Hat of course needs money to develop and support their product just like closed source companies.

Much of the o/s sparkle is PR by the companies that develop in o/s. It is possible to develop more quickly and from more rounded perspectives if you have a good development community, but no one works for free, not even in newsgroups. App companies might get app improvements from their user's modifications. O/s has had a good show so far in some areas that are more academic or idealistic (e.g. the AI field) where you will find greater sharing, volunteering, cooperation, etc. amongst developers.

Microsoft shops will avoid Linux like mad cow disease. MS shops will avoid o/s concepts unless MS opens its source code more. Or MS shops can lose their identities and embrace the other side.

Bottom lines:

• IBM will retain its niche in mainframe and cutting edge super computers and thus largely avoid Linux.
• MS will retain its low end (desktops) since Linux OSs have yet to come up with a consumer version (Lindows went nowhere). MS is growing its high end (trying to replace Sun's Sparc HW running Sun's Solaris UNIX OS with Intel/AMD HW running MS Windows) but will run into problems with Intel/AMD HW running Linux. MS is fighting to capture developer mindshare with .NET before developers take other routes.
• Sun is in big danger because MS and Linux are moving into their Sparc/Solaris arena. On the other hand, Java (and c/c++) will remain kings in o/s development.
• Companies of all sizes should like o/s and Linux, except for MS shops.
• Large app companies should like o/s, but smaller app companies and MS shops may not.

Beware:

• Beware the tower of Babel that is o/s! Too many cooks? Undocumented changes? Multiple coding styles spread throughout an app?
• Beware of in house developers gaining too much power!
• Beware the return of largely command line administration!