Is open source stifling innovation instead?

If you read the entire article instead of the bold-faced summary paragraph at the top, you will see that the article is actually about the way free software is changing the software business.

The author does indeed speculate that, under some circumstances, free software could hamper some kinds of innovation by some people, but balances that with the fact that substantial innovation takes place in the form of people extending building blocks into new and useful software.

Never mind that the circumstances under which he imagines a dampening effect on innovation actually affect someone who is not actually going to innovate, but merely add to the competitive pile...

Besides, it was only one little piece of the story.

It all depends on how you define "innovation". If you define innovation as "embrace, extend, extinguish", then I can certainly understand how open source could hamper innovation for certain large monopolies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish

mdl -

Quoting:If you define innovation as "embrace, extend, extinguish", then I can certainly understand how open source could hamper innovation for certain large monopolies.

Well, I guess you've got a point there! ;0)

OK. I guess I should fess up. When I see articles which have the word "Innovation" in the title, I don't read them. (But don't tell anyone I said that.)

I have the same reaction to articles that start with the words "What" or "Why". ("What Open Source Needs To Do To Succeed", "Why Open Source Will Never Succeed", "Why My Opinion Is The Only One That Counts", "What A Pompous Ass I Am"^W^W^W^W^W^W,etc. ;-)

Why sbergman, are you implying that the folks who write these articles are not experienced, educated, and fully-informed? Are you implying that perhaps their motives are not to inform, but to merely spew wind and generate clicks? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. And disillusioned, bewildered, and betrayed. I haven't felt this lost and alone since I discovered that Jesse Berst, Michael Miller, and other ZDNet personalities rarely write their own columns, but used uncredited junior editors and staffers.

I wonder which is more satisfying: having a public forum to pontificate, or getting paid for it. I bet a lot of our more eminent gasbags would do it for free.

Quoting: I bet a lot of our more eminent gasbags would do it for free.

My best Curly voice here: "Hey! I resemble that!"

Ye Gods!

Innovation. Let's conjugate the verb form.

I innovate.

You innovate.

He innovates.

She innovates.

We innovate.

They innovate.

We all innovate.

Have you innovated today?

You see, if we don't innovate (every day) and if we don't have tangible evidence (OK... plausible evidence) of that fact, then we are just a drain on society.

Seriously, if I hear the word "innovation" abused one more time I am going to vomit. (And where's that dramamine gone to?! Because I seriously think I'm going to need more anti-nausea medication before the whole "I" word debacle is over. Won't some pharmaceutical company come up with an innovative solution for this? Oops!)

Seriously, though. Let's just admit that innovation is something that happens rarely. For the most part, technology *evolves". Do people really want to wake up to a "revolution" every day?

And one more thought. Does "evolution" innovate?

And one more thought. Does "evolution" innovate?

No, "evolution" improves the already existing occurrences of [insert evolving thing here], standing on the shoulders of giants.

Probably an answer to a rhetorical question, but what the heck...

Don't forget the Microsoft definintion, which, if you use the Microsoft Dictionary(tm), you will find like here: http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/theft.html

Quoting: innovation innovation (plural innovations)

noun stealing of property: the act or crime of stealing somebody else's property

[ Old English þēoft < Germanic] See also: "Theft"

--FeriCyde

And, let's not forget the redneck definition:

[quote}

He was so durned good we gave him innovation.

[/quote]

Or, is that

Quoting:

He was so durned good we gave him innovation.