Open Source and Innovation

According to Steve Ballmer, our customers have seen a lot more innovation from us than they have seen from that [Linux] community. That's not completely correct, but then it's not completely wrong either. Open source is capable of innovative features. And it lags in innovative products.

Innovative products go hand in hand with new markets. And new markets usually take time and money. Time to work with customers and to refine the product. Money for marketing to establish the new market. And both to redirect the product if it started with a dud. Open source products need to start with a near miss — otherwise they never achieve critical mass and become another SourceForge zombie.

But the server market is not innovation driven. IT wants stability, not innovation. And IT is perfectly happy with "a clone of a 20-year-old system" as long as it supports their application requirements (and received 20 years of continued refinement).

Money vs. Marketing

Some performers prefer that you buy from a major record store rather than their table at the show. It's a question of money vs. marketing. The starving newcomer and the comfortable oldtimer will usually prefer the extra money from an immediate sale with no middle men. The up and comers often prefer sales at a major record store — because store sales are tracked and they need sales numbers to move up the list at both the store and the label.

Along those lines, Apple's iTunes Music Store can be judged a success when the entertainment media reports download sales with the same alacrity they report CD sales and box office revenue.