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Re: intellectual shortcuts
You're right. I took an intellectual shortcut on this one. The purpose wasn't to promote open source or to commit revisionist history. It was to give some credit where due, and not credit of the usual kind. Unfortunately, it does give credit of the usual kind, to the degree that it credits one group and not another. Software developers of all kinds deserve the credit. And not just of the "we put the dot in the dot-com" sort that Sun advertises. What matters is that together we make a place that works around a space that's open and free. That's the space that software and business patents (for example) infringe. The open source and free software guys deserve credit for going a long way toward helping shape and define that space -- and for starting conversations about it that might not otherwise have happened. Unfortunately, we have arguments right now that are framed in what Esther Dyson calls "I'm right, you're evil" terms. Or worse, "you're doomed" or "you're hopeless." I catch this myself from the open/free guys, just because I happen to like Internet Explorer and PowerPoint. Also that I use Mac and Windows for stuff they do best, or stuff that just isn't done on other platforms. Like it matters. Which it does, if commercial software developers get proper credit. By the way,I've also got feedback from people saying the Net's credits need to include BBN, the research departments of commercial hardware and software companies (including Sun), and (yes) patents. So I guess I have the beginnings of my next editorial here. Thanks!
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