“But he then follows through with a great point that the gnarly
problem that 37signals’ applications solve is the problem of
design. 37signals might be building fluffy Ruby-on-Rails Ajax
sites, but that’s beside the point of the
problem they’re really solving: how to design a
great looking user experience that makes people happy.“I think this draws a great parallel to what’s wrong with free
software: it’s created to scratch a certain itch, and that’s
usually all it does. Compelling user interface? Joy to use? Nope,
it solves the original programmer’s problem and that’s about it.
And before you get all uppity that I’m attacking open source
software, let me clarify that I’m talking about the open source
software I create…”
Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.
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