http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html Mon, 21 May 2012 13:54:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html/comment-page-1#comment-1172 Don Marti Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:44:09 +0000 http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html#comment-1172 GNU and Linux took off when proprietary development tools were expensive and the common proprietary OS products were bad. Today, small business accounting packages are both expensive _and_ bad. And there's a huge opportunity to sell services that integrate with the accounting software -- payroll, credit card processing, banking, training. And hardware products such as scales, printers, and bar code scanners. GPL accounting software seems like a no-brainer startup. Maybe the no-brainer part is the problem--people want to do something "innovative" like Yet Another Social Network. GNU and Linux took off when proprietary development tools were expensive and the common proprietary OS products were bad.
Today, small business accounting packages are both expensive _and_ bad. And there’s a huge opportunity to sell services that integrate with the accounting software — payroll, credit card processing, banking, training. And hardware products such as scales, printers, and bar code scanners.
GPL accounting software seems like a no-brainer startup. Maybe the no-brainer part is the problem–people want to do something “innovative” like Yet Another Social Network.

]]> http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html/comment-page-1#comment-1171 Jason D. Clinton Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:45:43 +0000 http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html#comment-1171 When will our director lead? When will our director lead?

]]> http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html/comment-page-1#comment-1170 Joe Buck Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:17:11 +0000 http://stormyscorner.com/2008/08/where-will-open-source-lead.html#comment-1170 One problem in the corporate world is that there are large numbers of IT employees whose careers are based on their expertise working with big, complicated proprietary enterprise software from companies like Oracle or SAP. This means that although they formally work for company X, and are on the payroll, in many ways they are agents of the proprietary software provider, in that they stand to benefit from increased dependence on that provider. They even benefit from usability problems in the proprietary software, as it makes their own expertise more valuable (since it's a scarce commodity). One problem in the corporate world is that there are large numbers of IT employees whose careers are based on their expertise working with big, complicated proprietary enterprise software from companies like Oracle or SAP. This means that although they formally work for company X, and are on the payroll, in many ways they are agents of the proprietary software provider, in that they stand to benefit from increased dependence on that provider. They even benefit from usability problems in the proprietary software, as it makes their own expertise more valuable (since it’s a scarce commodity).

]]>