Re: tlug: Re: Request for comments: Short TLUG article

["Jonathan Byrne" <jpmag@example.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Manuel Chakravarty <chak@example.com>

>Nevertheless, it would be unwise and, I think, not fair to
>position TLUG against commercial software par se.

I agree, and I think the revised brief seemed to reflect
this.  There is no reason why Open Source and either
shareware or shrinkwrap proprietary software have to be
enemies of each other.  The roles they fill and the services
they provide are, for the most part, quite different.  A
system that has support buy shrinkwrap software vendors gets
more respect as a "real" operating system.  Many MIS people
have already been won over to Linux, the industry press is
being rapidly converted, and some penetration is being made
into management ranks.  Something that will help a lot in
that area will be if major software vendors start releasing
Linux versions of desktop software.  If Microsoft's Linux
beta of Netshow is followed up with more Linux software (I
want IE 4 and Outlook Express! :-)   ), that could prove to
be a watershed event.  Whether you like, hate, or don't care
about Microsoft, I think we can all agree that when
Microsoft produced software for a platform, the industry
sees that as a stamp of approval.  Look how much an Office
98 committment and an investment of a paltry (for MS) $150
million dollars did for Apple.

If two years from now MS has Linux versions of Office 2000,
Internet Explorer 5, and Outlook Express, that will do a lot
to boost the profile of Linux.  Who knows, if Linux keeps
gaining ground, there might even someday be an MS Linux
distribution.  Sounds crazy, I know, but if they see enough
potential revenue in it, it could possibly happen.  After
all, look how much stuff in the MS stable originally came
from outside of MS; even NT was mostly written by hired guns
from DEC, I'm told.  We can see that MS certainly doesn't
suffer from  "Not Invented Here Syndrome," so an MS Linux
distribution containing the usual Open Source stuff and some
shrinkwrap Microsoft tools and utilities, may not be a
completely impossible idea.

rall, it might be a nice goal to try to deepen the
>understanding that the Open Source idea and `making money
>with software' harmonizes very well (as long as nobody is
>trying to monopolize part of the software market).  I
think,
>in this spirit to promote Open Source is a very nice idea.

And indeed, many companies are "making money with software"
from Open Source now.  Imagine how much trouble it would be
to assemble all of the stuff needed to make a Linux
distribution by yourself, compile it, and get it all working
together.  The companies that save us this trouble by
putting it all on a CD-ROM and having a nice installer to
make a file system and put it all on our hard disks are
making money from Open Source software.  Ditto for Walnut
Creek, whose product line consists mostly of CD-ROM
collections of Open Source and/or PD stuff.

I think the way to go as a position for TLUG is to
particularly promote Open Source, but to be soundly  behind
the development of all kinds of software for Linux.  There
are, after all, many people who don't really care whether
they can get the source code or not.  They want software
that first of all works well and easily, as advertised, and
that they can get at a reasonable price (or free, if
possible).  As Linux grows, more and more users of that type
will be joining the ranks of TLUG and other Linux
organizations.  Let's face it, if we could walk into T-Zone
and find row upon row of shrink-wrapped Linux software for
everything imaginable on CD-ROMs containing .deb, .rpm, and
.tar.gz formats, I bet there are many among us who would
have at least one piece of such software installed on our
Linux machines.

And who knows?  A few years from now, it may even be that
way.

Jonathan

--------------------------------------------------------------
Next Nomikai: 15 May Fri, 19:30 Tengu TokyoEkiMae 03-3275-3691
Next TLUG Meeting: 13 June Sat, Tokyo Station Yaesu gate 12:30
Featuring Stone and Turnbull on .rpm and .deb packages
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: PHT, makers of TurboLinux http://www.pht.co.jp