[Zope] Zope needs this (and Dynamo has it)

[Jack Ungerleider]

<Previous Comments snipped for bandwidth conservation>

Alexander Staubo wrote:
> The Open Source guys just wants "software that doesn't suck".

</lurk>
I've been watching this debate since the begining and felt I'd put in one
observation on the above quotation. I actually think one of the comments in
this vain (maybe by ESR) was the goal for "software that sucks less" than
the whats out there. I don't think you can create software that doesn't suck
in some person opinion.

That said what I've learned is if I have to have software that isn't quite
where I want it to be I prefer the ability to adapt it myself. One argument
against open-source software projects is that they often come from amorphous
groups on the Internet. (Zope is an exception.) As a result there is no one
to "hang if it fails". What people don't factor into the equation is if I
have to pay $X for licenses from a vendor (with or without a support
contract) how many hours of contractor time will that buy me to install,
customize, administor, and maintain a freely available open-source product?

For those fighting this battle inside corporations I recommend
http://www.cluetrain.com as a place to visit.

More grist for the mill.
<lurk>

Jack Ungerleider
The Ungerleider Group
jack@jacku.com