30 Dec 2007
Long Live Closed-Source Software?

I've never really understood the near reverential attitude some folk in information science have for Jaron Lanier, and after digesting this, I think I've been justified in my skepticism.

In an article for Discover Magazine, Jaron Lanier writes about his belief that open source produces nothing interesting because of a hide-bound mentality. "Open wisdom-of-crowds software movements have become influential, but they haven't promoted the kind of radical creativity I love most in computer science. If anything, they've been hindrances. Some of the youngest, brightest minds have been trapped in a 1970s intellectual framework because they are hypnotized into accepting old software designs as if they were facts of nature. Linux is a superbly polished copy of an antique, shinier than the original, perhaps, but still defined by it."

(link) [Slashdot]

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