Fighting Open Source, Even if it Costs the Company
"This is not a gamer's blog, but I felt this was important enough to list here:
Sony's PSP and new PS3 Engineered to Treat Audience as Potential Criminals
"I guess we shouldn't expect any less from the same people who ignited the international DRM controversy with their music CD malware.
"This same attitude towards its customer base (Litigate rather than Innovate) is precisely what caused TSR to go bankrupt in the 90's. It's a sign of incompetent, unadaptable management.
"When will corporations learn that fighting open source is a massive waste of money that only leads to alienated customers? For hundreds of years inventors have known that once a product became popular enough, it took on a life entirely its own. At that point monopolizing the product becomes nearly impossible (velcro, tin foil, etc). By using attack lawyers to cling desperately to the heels of a product that the world owns, they sabotage the product's growth.
"Perhaps they're too greedy and shortsighted to care that their product won't become a major part of national or world culture-- they'll settle for a blip on the cultural radar and as much money as they can get without relinquishing any control.
"Open source is a way for the fans and audience to contribute back to the developer, a way of bringing their product closer to perfection in exchange for a little bit of control. They'll still buy the original units, and probably more of them for a longer product lifespan.
"Historically it's akin to people taking the story of Hercules and adding embellishments as its passed along, only to find, a decade later, that one labor had become twelve from all the retellings. If the originator of that tale had executed anyone who told the story differently, it wouldn't have lasted a year, and it certainly wouldn't have grown."
Sony's PSP and new PS3 Engineered to Treat Audience as Potential Criminals
"I guess we shouldn't expect any less from the same people who ignited the international DRM controversy with their music CD malware.
"This same attitude towards its customer base (Litigate rather than Innovate) is precisely what caused TSR to go bankrupt in the 90's. It's a sign of incompetent, unadaptable management.
"When will corporations learn that fighting open source is a massive waste of money that only leads to alienated customers? For hundreds of years inventors have known that once a product became popular enough, it took on a life entirely its own. At that point monopolizing the product becomes nearly impossible (velcro, tin foil, etc). By using attack lawyers to cling desperately to the heels of a product that the world owns, they sabotage the product's growth.
"Perhaps they're too greedy and shortsighted to care that their product won't become a major part of national or world culture-- they'll settle for a blip on the cultural radar and as much money as they can get without relinquishing any control.
"Open source is a way for the fans and audience to contribute back to the developer, a way of bringing their product closer to perfection in exchange for a little bit of control. They'll still buy the original units, and probably more of them for a longer product lifespan.
"Historically it's akin to people taking the story of Hercules and adding embellishments as its passed along, only to find, a decade later, that one labor had become twelve from all the retellings. If the originator of that tale had executed anyone who told the story differently, it wouldn't have lasted a year, and it certainly wouldn't have grown."