Tech Central Station: Every Market That Rises Must Converge

“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…”

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