[kwlug-disc] interesting piece on the power of open source

[unsolicited]

> On Tue, 2009-12-01 at 13:03 -0500, Robert P. J. Day wrote:
>> "Under the right conditions, open-source will eventually dominate a
>> category because it is the most economically efficient software model
>> in the world."
>>
>> http://kellyherrell.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/the-open-source-business-whats-tomorrows-dominance-worth-today/

Lori Paniak wrote, On 12/01/2009 1:25 PM:
 > Let's not get carried away.  There are a number of issues that FLOSS
 > still has to deal with.  Like the "70% working" problem, or the
 > problem of support.  Beyond appliances, can FLOSS deliver what the
 > retail end-user wants, in a way they can stomach?
 >
 > Even the most highly polished "retail" FLOSS software comes up short
 > on important measures such as ease of installation: eg. the latest
 > Ubuntu release.
 >
 > Maybe "open source" will always be a synonym for "perpetual beta"?
 > That's OK for the lab and server room, but probably not good enough
 > for Best Buy.
 >
 > The success of FLOSS is not a foregone conclusion.  There is plenty
 > of work to be done.

So, FLOSS may be the 'best' (mostly) software in the world once 
implemented / inserted / installed, but doesn't / fails / can't 
actually put it in the hands of the (mass) end users?