Tag Archives: open source

What’s wrong with open source, redux

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Ian Betteridge

Miguel De Icanza on the Linux desktop and why it failed: When faced with "this does not work", the community response was usually "you are doing it wrong". That's been my experience of hanging out on open source forums looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Web/Tech | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Roboto and the open source red herring

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Ian Betteridge

I largely agree with John Gruber and many others than Roboto is a bit of an ungainly beast of a font, although it’s much better than the hideous thing it replaces. But I think that John is missing the mark … Continue reading →

Posted in Android, Google, Mobile | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

On Google’s “openness”

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Ian Betteridge

If you want to start a flame war, post something about whether Google is truly “open” or not. Nothing in the world of technology – not even comments on the state of Steve Jobs’ health – is more likely to … Continue reading →

Posted in Android, Google | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Why free software will remain a niche, in a nutshell

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Ian Betteridge

Steven J Vaughan-Nichols on The new Debian Linux: Irrelevant? | ZDNet: “For example, the default Debian distributions won’t include any proprietary firmware binary files… If, as is likely if you’re using a laptop or a PC with high-end graphics and you find … Continue reading →

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How efficient is open source development?

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Ian Betteridge

Mark Shuttleworth, who probably knows more about open source development than most, on the open source development process: “There is a myth that being open is necessarily more efficient and cheaper, but there are no hordes of people showing up … Continue reading →

Posted in Web/Tech | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Create things people want to own

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Ian Betteridge

Sometimes, I start writing a blog post only to find that someone else has said what I was about to say, only with more brevity and style. In this case, it’s Joe Clark, talking about the open source community’s “sky … Continue reading →

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Daring Fireball’s wishful thinking

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Ian Betteridge

I totally understand where John Gruber is coming from with his post on “The OS Opportunity“. The problem is that there’s a whole lot of wishful thinking in there. First of all, go read John’s post. Rather than try and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Windows 7, Mac OS X and Ubuntu: A Tale of Three Operating Systems

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Ian Betteridge

Joe Wilcox picks up on a comment that I made on his post about Windows 7 and its relationship to the Mac: “As you know, Joe, I’m a Mac to Linux switcher (with over 20 years Mac use under my … Continue reading →

Posted in Macs, Web/Tech | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

How much of a success is open source?

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Ian Betteridge

How much of a success is open source? In his musings on open source, and how ideas cross the chasm, Alan Patrick ponders the origin story of open source, and how it relates to a particular brand of utopianism. “The … Continue reading →

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Well now this is interesting

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Ian Betteridge

WordPress app for iPhone: “Robust but simple to use, the WordPress for iPhone Open Source application allows you to create and edit content on your WordPress blog(s) with support for offline use.” Can an application that comes wrapped in a … Continue reading →

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