RE: Linux stifles innovation...

[Torrey Hoffman]

Dennis wrote:
>At 07:01 PM 02/16/2001, Alan Olsen wrote:
>>On Fri, 16 Feb 2001, Dennis wrote:
>>
>> > There is much truth to the concept, although Microsoft should not be
ones
>> > to comment on it as such.
>>
>>What truth?  I have seen more "innovation" in the Open Source movement
>>than I ever have in my 18+ years of being a professional programmer.
>You are confusing "progress" with "innovation". If there is only 1 choice, 
>thats not innovation. Expanding on a bad idea, or even a good one, is not 
>innovation.
>
>Designing something differently to make it better is innovation.  I suppose

>you could argue that redesigning linux every few  years is innovation, but 
>unfortunately its the same cast of characters doing it, so its not very 
>innovative.

Reality check:

1.	The Open Source / Free Software communities have produced 
	more innovative software in the last 4 years than Microsoft 
	has in the same time, despite Microsoft's _vast_ advantages 
	in money, manpower, and hardware manufacturer relationships.

2.	Where Microsoft is "innovating", those changes are usually
	intended to lock the customer in to Microsoft's products,
	and are not in the best interests of their own customers.

3.	Far from Open Source being a threat to innovation, it is 
	actually Microsoft that stifles innovation.  Also, Free 
	software helps the developers who use it to do innovative
	things, while Microsoft has endless restrictions.

What has Microsoft done since 1996?  Good and bad?
What has Free Software done in the same time?  

Most of Microsoft's best ideas were more than 5 years ago, and
since then they've mostly been integrating and marketing.  
They have done a few interesting things, but not nearly as much 
as they could have.

Some things to consider, in no particular order:

- Innovative new hardware devices are more likely to be based on
Linux than any Microsoft OS. For example, the TiVO, the coolest 
improvement to television since the VCR.

- ECN, IPv6, other RFC-standard improvements standard protocols
- File systems: cramfs, reiserfs, Tux2, ext3, etc.
- MS' new C# language. Java. Kaffe. Perl. Ruby. Python.
- Cross platform support from System 390 to iPaq
- Ogg Vorbis
- Beowulf vs. that pathetic Microsoft beowulf-wanna-be.
- Microsoft's "innovative" extensions to Kerebos.
- Software for building community web sites, like Slashdot, 
	Freshmeat, SourceForge, etc.
- Mozilla
- Integrating Internet Explorer into Windows.
- RTLinux (does Microsoft have a hard real-time OS? Why not?)
- Embedded Linux vs. Windows CE
- Gnome and KDE user interfaces - works in progress, but lots
	of innovation there.
- Gimp. Apache.
- PHP, ModPerl, etc. vs ASP.
- Jabber XML messaging platform
- Handwriting recognition.  MS has an edge here.
- Scanner software APIs: TWAIN vs. SANE. 
- Direct3D vs OpenGL
- XML-based, open file formats vs. proprietary file formats
- Windows Update vs. apt-get, rpmfind, etc.
- OpenSSH vs.  ummm... BackOrfice?
- IP over Firewire and other crazy, cool ideas
- OpenBSD and line-by-line code audits.
- .NET
- Innovative new ways to spread viral documents and mail
- In-kernel web server/accelerator, fastest in the world

Don't forget Microsoft's latest innovation: integrating copy 
protection for music into the upcoming Windows XP OS, preventing 
people from fully controlling their own computer hardware. Feh.

On the other hand, they make excellent mice.  The mouse wheel and
the new optical mice are truly innovative and Microsoft should be
commended for them. 

Yours truly,

Torrey Hoffman 
- a relative nobody in the world of free software. But I use it.