The path forward is open source, not free software.
In one sense this is true as freedom and Free software are the goal, not means to an end – but clearly this is not what Matt means. The question a pure, “pragmatic” open source supporter could ask is, “If this is the path forward, where am I trying to go?” One may get the impression that while Matt loves the Open Road, he has no vision of where he’s headed. Going “mainstream” is useful and arguably necessary (thanks, Open Source) but if that’s it – if that’s the goal – the “path forward” leads nowhere. Proprietary software companies love nothing more than those who repeat (or imply) the mantra that technical advantages and market forces alone will be the cause of open source’s coming dominance. Matt concludes:
Free software has lost. Open source has won. We’re all the better for it.
There’s certainly differences regarding the values empahsized by Free software and Open Source, but since when did the two begin to compete against each other?
Update (09/29): Glyn Moody goes into more detail here.
Tags: matt asay
September 26, 2009 at 7:07 pm |
Matt has no vision. He champions compromise because he makes a living off it, not for any socially beneficial reasons. But whatever, that doesn’t make him evil – just pointless to listen to and irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things. The ‘free software has lost, open source has won’ comment is as ignorant as it gets.