Open source rears it's ugly head

An article today by the BBC suggests that the UK government, or at least, the opposition, think that open source is a great idea and will adopt it "when it provides value".

I will say up front that I use open source software. I have contributed to it when I had nothing better to do and I am sure there is a place for it in technology but; and it's a big but, open source can never work for massive public services, large enterprises or for people that think it saves money over proprietary licensed software. Why? Well, because open source software is inherently altruistic. It must be because the writers of Open Source code must go into the job without the slightest whif of expectation of being able to make money out of it. Whether thay do or not in the end is niether here nor there. The idea must be born in total altruism and it may mature into a money making scheme later.

The problem then becomes the license. Open source licenses state that you should give back to qualify to use it. Public services and corporations don't like to give back, especially if it has anything to do with proprietary data. Now you can theoretically use open source code, modify it to suit your needs and never republish a single line. This however means that the code sits in the code vaults, requires a maintenance staff and, worst of all, diverges from the main-line over time. Simply because no two development teams ever have the same algorithmic philosophies. In the end, maintaining a staff of developers for an indeterminite period of time is often far less cost effective than buying a license and the occasional update.

Lastly, I have a moral objection to open source that many will disagree vehemently with but I don't care what you, dear reader, may say. I object to open source code because it devalues my job in the eyes of people who know SQUAT! about how to craft a good program. People like the shadow under secretary for digital media is a pencil pushing small-time politician who thinks that software is a free commodity that falls from the ether of the internet like rain from the sky and believes that the sheer volume of it must mean that some of it must be good in the same way that an infinite number of monkeys can whip out a few really good sonnets now and again.

Writing software is an art that requires skill and creativity. People today realise more than ever that skill and artistry are saleable commodities. Don't give too much away for free because it cheapens the market.