>> Good point. With open source, you can crank out much faster versions/revisions. If M$ did that,
how would that change how you feel about them?<<
I don't think this is an open source vs. commercial issue Michael. We all know there are many
aspects of software development that affect how fast software is revised. Scope of the app, scope of
the changes, number of developers, experience of developers, quality of project management team,
quality of specs, feedback from code reviews, incentives to get it completed, scope creep, quality
of the existing design and existing codebase, etc.
For instance, I made a change today to some software I am writing commercially and it will be in
production tomorrow. I doubt the Linux Kernel team can do this with the approval process, all the
user acceptance testing, regression testing, beta testing, builds, distribution, etc. The OS is huge
and the impact changing one line of code could bring down computers around the world. The scope of
the project is too large where mine is much smaller and simpler to manage. I did not have to
communicate the changes to a big team. I did not have a huge approval process. I also made some
changes to something that is open source, but that change won't see the light of day for at least a
month.
While I see the point Ted is making, I think the article referenced points out that no matter where
you go, politics plays a part in the level of enjoyment one gets out of their job. It does not
matter if you are working for big companies or small companies, the evil empire or a good charitable
cause (and this does not only apply to software), if you are not having fun or at least enjoying the
work or effort you are contributing, chances are you will take your services someplace else. I have
left good jobs and volunteer positions when politics got involved to a level where I no longer
enjoyed things. I applaud this developer for making his choice to leave it all behind. It sounds
like it is a negative to the Linux team since he appears to be brilliant. This stuff unfortunately
happens all the time. No one should be surprised.
Rick
White Light Computing, Inc.
www.whitelightcomputing.com
www.swfox.net
www.rickschummer.com
©2007 Rick Schummer |
