Internet-Standard

Open Source Drives Web 2.0

I'm totally not surprised that, according to this article, Web 2.0 is built on Open Source, the biggest/most visible Web 2.0 companies are built and hosted on open source software platforms.

Think about it: if you've got some crazy idea for a new web-based business, you have the choice of going out and spending kilobucks (to start) for commercial proprietary software--or doing your preliminary development/prototyping on no-cost open source software. If you choose the open source option, you're out nothing but time if your idea flops, so it's pretty easy to make that decision.

Let's say your idea starts to take off, though: with proprietary software, you've got to keep going back to the vendor to buy more and more licenses as you grow. If you'd started out with open source, though, all you need to scale is more hardware (which you need with the proprietary solutions as well). Again, it's pretty obvious that you do better with open source software, especially if you can't drive a revenue stream through your website until you've scaled up.

Counting Linux Users

Did I mention that I've been "on" the Internet since 1988? Because I have: that's when I went to work at Draper Laboratory, in Cambridge MA. Eventually, after bouncing around a bit, I wound up in the network support group where we handled all the networking issues. And at Draper, unlike most organizations at the time, "network" meant "IP network", as in, "Internet Protocol" network.

Why do I mention this? Only because whenever Linux makes news, it makes deja vu for me. This time, the article at Slashdot, Attempts to Count Linux Users Remain Pointless, reminded me of the mid-90s when everyone with something to hype about the Internet and web would go on endlessly about the seemingly endless annual doubling (or faster) rate of Internet growth.

The original article cited at Slashdot, Can Linux Adoption Ever be Accurately Gauged?, is mostly about why it's so tough to figure out the degree to which Linux is penetrating the "market". Most of the Slashdot discussion is about whether or not it's even worthwhile to count Linux users, and if so, how to actually do it with some degree of precision.

I'm a big believer in back-of-the-envelope calculation, and I also believe that, although it may be difficult, it is possible to estimate Linux market share. I'm interested in hearing your opinions on this matter--but I'm also going to get to work on an article about how you'd go about generating this information, as well as the results I get.

Open Source iPhone Killer?

Are you sick of the iPhone yet? I sure am. Anyway, I was delighted to hear about an open source iPhone killer, from the OpenMoko project. Slashdot reported an Open Source Linux Phone Goes on Sale.

The phone in question is the Neo 1973, and the price for a developer's preview is $300. The really good news is that the OpenMoko people are trying to set an example for how hardware manufacturers can go about using open source software in a way that will benefit the manufacturer/vendor as well as users and third party developers.

Right now it's not entirely clear when they'll be ready to sell to mainstream users; at the moment their website seems to be knocked down by all the Linux fans looking for more information, but if you can't get in now they should be back up and running soon.