“In my last article here on ITMJ, I challenged traditional
notions of the importance of source code access in open source.
Most point to source code availability as the premier benefit open
source delivers, without offering any substantive reasons to
support the claim. As I noted, while open access to source code may
matter for some, its benefits pale in comparison to the benefits
associated with open source distribution. In summary, open source
business models yield dramatically lower sales, marketing, and
product distribution costs, enabling upstart competitors to
undercut established vendors on price while providing their
customers Porsche technology at Pinto pricing.“Open distribution, then, matters a great deal in fueling
disruptive competitors. Open source? Not so much, at least at first
glance…”
Related Story:
IT Manager’s Journal: Why Open Distribution is the Real Promise of
Open Source(Jun 17, 2004)