Lora Bentley spoke with Amanda McPherson, marketing programs and developers, vice president of Linux Foundation. She and two colleagues recently published a new book, “The estimation of the total evolution of a Linux distribution.” Bentley: Your study found that the cost of $ 1. 4 billion for a company to build the Linux kernel from scratch today, and $ 10. 8 billion to build a comprehensive Linux distribution like Fedora 9. Can you please explain how to achieve these figures? McPherson: The findings have been by David Wheeler SLOC tool called sloccount, the use of industry standards is a constructive cost model (COCOMO) is reached. This method takes into account the lines of code written, the corresponding number of years worked and salary adjustments for inflation. We wanted to be with a real number based on the only thing you can quantify in open source – code. We used a methodology and a highly respected tool that had been used before. Instead of random projects, we thought it was the best way to approach it. Bentley: Why community distribution Fedora and not another? McPherson: Fedora is the basis of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is an important part of the Linux market. This has to evaluate our model very relevant. David A. Wheeler also had red in his study in 2002. OpenSUSE and Debian / Ubuntu is of course also the main objectives of this study. We can do it at a later date. We also use an integrated distribution. Bentley: What to do, or that these results mean for proprietary software? McPherson: I think it means that the future of software development is cooperative. These systems have become so powerful and so important for every company that would develop their own funds, a foolish and perhaps financially untenable decision. Software development today requires real collaboration, with the pace demanded by the innovation of the market. Consider devices like the Kindle and Gphone. You would not likely be available today, there are not billions of dollars of R & D they use the Linux kernel. You see companies like Intel using Linux and open source components in the Moblin project for the use of netbooks running its products to be developed. Intel could, instead of developing proprietary software in-house, that need to be, but why should they, if they can use to make billions of dollars of free R & D? Things have changed since the revolution of the desktop. Bentley: Not many proprietary software vendors recognize the value of open source is now as much use open source in one form or another? McPherson: Absolutely! You can also click on our “Who wrote Linux” report that support hundreds of companies in the development of Linux examined directly. This study has shown that these companies (like IBM, Intel, Red Hat, Novell and HP) have taken a very wise decision. You can participate fully in a large ecosystem and free R & D, but without the weight of the entire shoulder. Bentley: Why a study like this helpful? McPherson: Sometimes it is easy to be a ubiquitous piece of technology for granted, especially if you can use for free. I think it’s not just Linux, of course for us: We have R & D is the value of the Internet itself, and what it means for our economy. In comparison, Linux seems small, but when you think about all the innovations, it is fed or switched on, you start to get the idea. I honestly can not imagine where we would be if Google has a business to pay a fee per server for its servers. I do not think the economy would have been, you are building the network of powerful search that we use every day. This study makes us appreciate the piece, sometimes unannounced software and license that led to this innovation. Bentley: The results have significance given the current economic situation? McPherson: I think so. Linux has always been a cheaper alternative to Windows, but this report shows, the economic impact of technological innovation. It is exciting to see how the collaborative development model leads a new category of devices and technologies that are at least a decade in the future if it were not for Linux. Recall that in the software, time, money, time is often more important than money. For a company like Google or Intel to use this code, took years to develop, stimulates innovation and keeps costs down to make way for the consumer.
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Counting the Cost of Free: What Value, Linux?
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