MIT’s “Magazine of Innovation” interviews Bill Gates.
“Michael Dertouzos and Bill Gates ponder open-source software
and the future of the computing industry.”
“DERTOUZOS: It is ironic to me that in the United States, the
bastion of capitalism, where people have given of their work lives
and capital to create a huge industrial economy, we are now asked
to surrender the very same factors of production-our labor and our
capital-to develop software that will be open and free for all. I
do see some qualified benefits to open software, but I wanted to
get your views on the big picture before going any deeper.”
“GATES: …Open-source software’s strength is massive
customization but this works against consistency. Consumers don’t
know what to expect when they load the software; corporate
customers find it hard to stay current as each version is
customized; developers don’t get a volume market because there are
multiple flavors of the same product…”