OSS Now

I felt that I should get my offical views on where the OSS movement (primarly GNU/Linux) stands at the moment.

As I see it we are nearing a point in time when we will be ready to cross a line and cast off our current image (that we are a counterculture and software archive that existing purely as an anit-Microsoft). Rather, we can be known as just GNU/Linux, an Operating System paired with a collection of solid commercial grade applications, (we have this from a portion of the technologicaly literate) that interacts with users in a consistent and easy to understand manner.
Eventually the last portion will bypass that of other options with a gap large enough to justify large scale migration to the GNU/Linux platform. Unfortunelty, OSS is not ready for this yet (my $0.02, not a fact, so chill) and perhaps the greatest threat to the Open Source or Bazaar style of development is not (as many analyst who have become overly accustomed to closed or Cathedral development models claim) the frequent fragmentation and threading of projects (that is a natural part of the open development cycle, especially because most branches are short lived and minor, eventually folding back into the primary development tree) but instead a premature push for the adoption of OSS on a global stage. While we love to tout the security of Linux and its immunity to malware as a whole, it still has security holes. The Bugtraq mailing list has plenty of Linux vunerabilites to go hand in hand with its Windows ones. While the severity, ease of exploitation and patch speed are all up for grabs, we are still a David fighting Goliath. If David had missed by only a few inches, or if there were only sand sized pebbles, or his sling broke, then he would have become Goliath paste. We are fighting an uphill battle and it is not simply a matter of being better than our competitors. We have to be so much better that people are willing to switch. And we have to create this image without the corperate marketing and advertising engines that power Microsoft for years on end, convincing users of whatever is needed to keep them from jumping. Someone who already commands 90% of the market doesn't need innovation, they just need for things to not foul up so bad that they hire more PR people then the budget allows. We don't have that luxury, we have to be almost perfect, we have to not just win the crowds attention, but then dazzle them.

It is here that I think the community needs to take a second and think. You really only get one shot every two years, if your lucky. Recently some Mac lovers made the mistake of pushing something too hard too fast. While the idea of the contest is admirable, they have hurt the Mac image of virul immunity. Now I know that most slashdot readers are techno-literate enough to be aware of the reality of virus' and how its perfectly possible to have a virus on a Mac. Its more difficult than Windows, but for $50K US most would be willing to do the reaserch. While GNU/Linux is ready in some capacities to venture out onto a larger stage, we MUST be cautions. I was performing the family pitch, convincing them that it was worthwhile and they could send e-mail just as well from Linux (actauly when I told them that e-mail servers are commonly Linux they jumped at the idea.. I have no clue why that would make a teenage girl switch, but so be it). I think SuSE and Knoppix both seem to have the general idea. I know that taking it too far will get you Linspired, but Yast is a configuration utility that can actualy detect most desktop hardware and handle it.

I dunno what lies ahead for OSS (I would love to say global domination) but I want to be on record stating that there are great things ahead for OSS. But at the moment, we need to polish and perfect. And I mean wait in a general sense. I'm not pushing pause on our global ad campaign (that doesn't exist if some of you are scratching you heads, that was sarcasm.. just in text... so you can't tell) But should you be working at a small firm, don't force Linux, just mention it offhand. Soon enough there will be an upgrade or a cost cut, and someone will remember what you said. If you have relatives or friends who are on the line, be absolutly sure it meets their needs. While there certainly is a piece of OSS out there for every niche, there is not nessicarly a 1.0 release for every niche. Sometimes the best game is waiting, or if your gonna complain, you could help out.