Open source in Germany

[Paul Mackin]

Interesting interview. In the U.S. the potential  political implations
> for open source software are naturally seen but here a  very large
amount
> of emphasis is put on the simple fact that open source software is
better
> software--it can be better maintained and debugged  than the
proprietary
> kind and is therefore more reliable. Software seems to be rather
> different  in the enormous amount of sustained effort needed to keep
it
> working  reliably.  The theory at work is , the more people who
> understand and are intimately involved in the process the better.  Not
so
> many  airplanes and rockets will crash as a result. Open source
becomes
> as much a practical necessity as a democratic ideal.   I think people
who
> would accept the need for openess in software development might not be
so
> easily persuaded in other areas of creation.  Intellectual property
> rights may still have a lot going for them--say in composing music and

> writing novels. Imagine what it would have been like if  drafts of
> Gravity's Rainbow had circulated freely to the p-list for comments and

> useful additions.  No one knows yet how the whole open source thing
will
> turn out in the commercial world. It looked for a while like companies

> like RedHat and VA Systems for example might make huge killings
providing
> service to users while being able to leave the the actual developement
of
> the product to talented individuals  who love the challenge and
openess
> ideal and have good day time jobs to take care of material needs. The
> economic slowdown  has sort of clouded the picture for the present.
Time
> will tell.

                    P.

Re-sent because I'd forgotten to suppress the very long incoming which
might have made the total too long to go through.