"The advent of open-source software has been hailed as the most significant event in computing since Apple played David to IBM's Goliath. Yet, while open-source code can be found practically everywhere these days, the companies dedicated to bringing it into the mainstream have had a rough time staying afloat.
"To economists, open-source's growing pains offer fascinating insights into the impact of technological change on the way markets are organized. But to firms now investing billions of dollars in IT infrastructure, there's nothing academic about the issue. Since computer software is such an important part of the production process in so many different industries, choosing the right software model (in terms of development, licensing, and distribution) can make a significant difference for the bottom line..."
