Information Week, a week or so ago, ran an article from Fred Langa on the topic of Firefox.
InformationWeek > Browsers > Langa Letter: The Pros And Cons Of Firefox > April 18, 2005
He raises a number of good points about some of the perceived security benefits of Firefox and other open-source products. All software has vulnerabilities and its own flaws. Firefox is not perfect. And he also raises a number of usability issues with Firefox, in particular the fact that there are websites that don’t display properly in it. This is a frustration to users, and makes it difficult to fully make the switch away from IE. But in my experience that issue is as often the fault of the website designer as it is reflective of any real problem with Firefox.
I think there is a larger issue with the whole open source development that he overlooks. Yes there will always be flaws. But as the software world gets more complex, there will be a growing problem with traditional software companies being able to keep up. At some point they simply can’t hire enough programmers and still remain in business. The real advantage of open source is the ability to involve a diverse and dynamic group of contributors that is organically able to respond to changing technical standards and opportunities.
It will be interesting to see how companies like IBM and SUN, who have embraced open-source, fare in the long-haul against Microsoft and Apple . Time will tell.
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Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
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