"Of all the myths that have grown up around open source software, perhaps the most pervasive is Eric Raymond's aphorism that 'Many eyes make bugs shallow', suggesting that if lots of people can view a program's source code, they will find and fix its errors more quickly than commercial products whose code is jealously guarded. The only problem with this is that it's not true - certainly not in one of the flagship projects of open source, OpenOffice."
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-08-10
"Cedega, though commercial, goes even further with paying customers voting on what aspect of the program to improve."
Voting is over-rated. I recall trying out Debian Hurd Cds on numerous occasions, and the packages that were included were chosen based on votes. Three CDs of mostly crap (many of which were X programs), with X11 on (IIRC) the last CD.
And let us not forget about Mr. Bush. Think conspiracy all you want, but I really believe that most people really are stupid enough to vote for the guy, not only once, but twice...
Member since:2005-11-16
"And let us not forget about Mr. Bush. Think conspiracy all you want, but I really believe that most people really are stupid enough to vote for the guy, not only once, but twice..."
Stuipidity is not an exclusive trait of the conservatives. Many people vote down party lines without even knowing who the candidates are or what they stand for. Next time, try not to show so much bias.
Member since:
An example of a widely used Open Source program that greatly benefits from user feedback would have to be WINE.
Cedega, though commercial, goes even further with paying customers voting on what aspect of the program to improve.
I honestly wish ALL commercial software had a business model like that (asuming it was successful and could keep them in business.)