Life of a techno-guru
Monday, August 13, 2007
Why I doubt FOSS will catch on anytime soon
So, you keep hearing about "OMGZLINUCKSISTAKINGOVERTHESOFTWAREMARKET" and other such abusrd comments by Linux fanboys and such, right? Well, if you're a Linux fanboy, and reading this, then you would most likely say "no," however I hear plenty of it myself, mostly over at Digg. It's kind of sad that people don't understand how powerful the Windows platform is, not just in regards to using it, but developing software around it using the .NET platform as well.
So, you're asking yourself about the title of my post, right? Well, I was just poking around looking at FreeBSD, 'cuz I've been thinking about playing with it again, and a few links later, I found myself looking at the source code for libarchive. Within the README file contained in the source code download, I noticed the following paragraph:
"This is a heavily stream-oriented system. There is no direct support for in-place modification or random access and no intention of ever adding such support. Adding such support would require sacrificing a lot of other features, so don't bother asking."
Wow. Sounds like somebody has an attitude problem. Since when are you going to convince any customers to use your product when you clearly, and openly, state that you have absolutely no intention of complying with their potential needs? Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that there are some technical details as to why this particular feature isn't realistic in this scenario, but the whole approach to the situation is absolutely enthralling. I can't imagine any company being very successful without focusing on their customer's needs, and this snippet from the README in libarchive is no exception. I'm sure that some businesses, and individuals, out there are using this software library, but without offering to be dynamic and at least working with your customer to understand and ultimately meet their needs, then you can forget about business support.
Honestly, I wish people would grow up sometimes. The author of libarchive sounds like a stubborn 2 year old. If he is one, then I'm amazed at his programming talent at such an early age, but if he is not, then I suggest that he act his age. That is all. ¶ 1:29 PM 0 comments
So, you're asking yourself about the title of my post, right? Well, I was just poking around looking at FreeBSD, 'cuz I've been thinking about playing with it again, and a few links later, I found myself looking at the source code for libarchive. Within the README file contained in the source code download, I noticed the following paragraph:
"This is a heavily stream-oriented system. There is no direct support for in-place modification or random access and no intention of ever adding such support. Adding such support would require sacrificing a lot of other features, so don't bother asking."
Wow. Sounds like somebody has an attitude problem. Since when are you going to convince any customers to use your product when you clearly, and openly, state that you have absolutely no intention of complying with their potential needs? Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that there are some technical details as to why this particular feature isn't realistic in this scenario, but the whole approach to the situation is absolutely enthralling. I can't imagine any company being very successful without focusing on their customer's needs, and this snippet from the README in libarchive is no exception. I'm sure that some businesses, and individuals, out there are using this software library, but without offering to be dynamic and at least working with your customer to understand and ultimately meet their needs, then you can forget about business support.
Honestly, I wish people would grow up sometimes. The author of libarchive sounds like a stubborn 2 year old. If he is one, then I'm amazed at his programming talent at such an early age, but if he is not, then I suggest that he act his age. That is all. ¶ 1:29 PM 0 comments
