With the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple has been
on the minds of many. Apple has a unique
development strategy: keep secrets closely guarded, prototype and test but
don’t use focus groups, and directly control as many aspects of the design,
hardware, and software as possible.
Apple’s incredibly closed process has produced extremely innovative
products that have been huge successes.
Compare that to the open source development strategy pioneered by
projects like Linux: keep everything out in the open with no secrets, let users
drive the process by having access to early releases, and let anybody that is
willing and capable contribute. This has
also led to extremely innovative products that are widely used. So which is better: open or closed? I say both are needed so that each continues
to spur innovation in the other. Opened
and closed together open up the most possibilities.
Get out of my head! This is exactly what I was thinking, only you did a better job describing it. You know what they say... "Great minds think alike" ;)
ReplyDeleteFor closed environments like Apple to work, I think they need a visionary who knows exactly what needs to happen. Steve Jobs did that for Apple. Open source projects show the opposite side of that: using many minds to find a solution. I agree that we need both. Some things work best because they were developed by the vision of a single person; others work best because they were developed by a shared vision of the many people involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both produce great products. I think open source is a whole different beast since it's a much less centered focus, allowing people to contribute where they are strongest but without a single individual like Steve Jobs to act as architect. I think this explains the lack of a polished feel and focus in open source products.
ReplyDeleteI agree that innovation is fueled by both these companies, and the dichotomy is quite interesting the way you brought it up. I would hope someday that there is no difference between open source and other products. Then we don't have to spend money. :D
ReplyDelete