Sep 26 2004
The Success of Open Source
By far it’s the best study in open source I have read. Starting from social, political, and economical views, he provides real and detailed insight into how Open Source works. Unlike The Cathedral and the Bazaar which relies more on experience, this book relies on detailed analysis, and relates Open Source to well established political science thoery. He goes well beyond describing the origins and organization of the movement but also describing business models and roles that companies have been adopting to support and work with open source software. It’s a long book, and starts to falter towards the end but its well worth the effort if a thorough understanding is important to you. “The Success of Open Source” is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand what is open source and its relevance for today’s society.
FYI: See Novell’s comments on Balmer’s recent letter to customers about MS vs. Linux.
http://www.orangecrate.com/article.php?sid=850