the.world.is.flat-第25节

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revolution　goes　far　beyond　little　Linux　。　。　。　Just　about　any　kind　of　software　＇now＇　
can　be　found　in　open…source　form。　The　SourceForge　website；　a　meeting　place　for　
programmers；　lists　an　astounding　86；000　programs　in　progress。　Most　are　minor　projects　
by　and　for　geeks；　but　hundreds　pack　real　value　。　。　。　If　you　hate　shelling　out　350　
for　Microsoft　Office　or　600　for　Adobe　Photoshop；　OpenOffice。org　and　the　Gimp　are　
surprisingly　high…quality　free　alternatives。〃　Big　companies　like　Google；　E*Trade；　
and　Amazon；　by　combining　Intel…based　commodity　server　components　and　the　Linux　
operating　system；　have　been　able　dramatically　to　cut　their　technology　spending…and　
get　more　control　over　their　software。　
Why　would　so　many　people　be　ready　to　write　software　that　would　be　given　away　for　free？　


Partly　it　is　out　of　the　pure　scientific　challenge；　which　should　never　be　
underestimated。　Partly　it　is　because　they　all　hate　Micro…

soft　for　the　way　it　has　so　dominated　the　market　and；　in　the　view　of　many　techies；　
bullied　everyone　else。　Partly　it　is　because　they　believe　that　open…source　software　
can　be　kept　more　fresh　and　bugfree　than　any　commercial　software；　because　of　the　way　
it　is　constantly　updated　by　an　army　of　unpaid　programmers。　And　partly　it　is　because　
some　big　tech　companies　are　paying　engineers　to　work　on　Linux　and　other　software；　
hoping　it　will　cut　into　Microsoft's　market　share　and　make　it　a　weaker　competitor　all　
around。　There　are　a　lot　of　motives　at　work　here；　and　not　all　of　them　altruistic。　When　
you　put　them　all　together；　though；　they　make　for　a　very　powerful　movement　that　will　
continue　to　present　a　major　challenge　to　the　whole　commercial　software　model　of　buying　
a　program　and　then　downloading　its　fixes　and　buying　its　updates。　
Until　now；　the　Linux　operating　system　was　the　best…known　success　among　open…source　
free　software　projects　challenging　Microsoft。　But　Linux　is　largely　used　by　big　
corporate　data　centers；　not　individuals。　However；　in　November　2004；　the　Mozilla　
Foundation；　a　nonprofit　group　supporting　open…source　software；　released　Firefox；　a　
free　Web　browser　that　New　York　Times　technology　writer　Randall　Stross　（December　19；　
2004）　described　as　very　fast　and　filled　with　features　that　Microsoft's　Internet　
Explorer　lacks。　Firefox　1。0；　which　is　easily　installed；　was　released　on　November　9。　
〃Just　over　a　month　later；〃　Stross　reported；　〃the　foundation　celebrated　a　remarkable　
milestone：　10　million　downloads。〃　Donations　from　Firefox's　appreciative　fans　paid　
for　a　two…page　advertisement　in　The　New　York　Times。　〃With　Firefox；〃　Stross　added；　
〃open…source　software　moves　from　back…office　obscurity　to　your　home；　and　to　your　
parents'；　too。　（Your　children　in　college　are　already　using　it。）　It　is　polished；　as　
easy　to　use　as　Internet　Explorer　and；　most　compelling；　much　better　defended　against　
viruses；　worms　and　snoops。　Microsoft　has　always　viewed　Internet　Explorer's　tight　
integration　with　Windows　to　be　an　attractive　feature。　That；　however；　was　before　
security　became　the　unmet　need　of　the　day。　Firefox　sits　lightly　on　top　of　Windows；　
in　a　separation　from　the　underlying　operating　system　that　the　Mozilla　Foundation's　
president；　Mitchell　Baker；　calls　a　'natural　defense。'　For　the　first　time；　Internet　
Explorer　has　been　losing　market　share。　According　to　a　worldwide　survey　conducted　in　
late　November　by　OneStat。com；　a　company　in　Amsterdam　that　analyzes　the　Web；　Internet　
Explorer's　share　dropped　to　less　than　89　percent；　5　percentage　points　less　than　in　
May。　Firefox　now　has　almost　5　percent　of　the　market；　and　it　is　growing。〃　
It　will　come　as　nosurprise　that　Microsoft　officials　are　not　believers　inthe　viability　
or　virtues　of　the　free　software　form　of　open…source。　Of　all　the　issues　I　dealt　with　
in　this　book；　none　evoked　more　passion　from　proponents　and　opponents　than　open…source。　
After　spending　time　with　the　open…source　community；　I　wanted　to　hear　what　Microsoft　
had　to　say；　since　this　is　going　to　be　an　important　debate　that　will　determine　just　
how　much　of　a　flattener　open…source　becomes。　
Microsoft's　first　point　is；　How　do　you　push　innovation　forward　if　everyone　is　working　
for　free　and　giving　away　their　work？　Yes；　says　Microsoft；　it　all　sounds　nice　and　chummy　
that　we　all　just　get　together　online　and　write　free　software　by　the　people　and　for　


the　people。　But　if　innovators　are　not　going　to　be　rewarded　for　their　innovations；　
the　incentive　for　path…breaking　innovation　will　dry　up　and　so　will　the　money　for　the　
really　deep　R　&　D　that　is　required　to　drive　progress　in　this　increasingly　complex　
field。　The　fact　that　Microsoft　created　the　standard　PC　operating　system　that　won　out　
in　the　marketplace；　it　argues；　produced　the　bankroll　that　allowed　Microsoft　to　spend　
billions　of　dollars　on　R　&　D　to　develop　Microsoft　Office；　a　whole　suite　of　applications　
that　it　can　now　sell　for　a　little　over　100。　
〃Microsoft　would　admit　that　there　are　number　of　aspects　of　the　open…source　movement　
that　are　intriguing；　particularly　around　the　scale；　community　collaboration；　and　
communication　aspects；〃　said　Craig　Mundie；　the　Microsoft　chief　technology　officer。　
〃But　we　fundamentally　believe　in　a　commercial　software　industry；　and　some　variants　
of　the　open…source　model　attack　the　economic　model　that　allows　companies　to　build　
businesses　in　software。　The　virtuous　cycle　of　innovation；　reward；　reinvestment；　and　
more　innovation　is　what　has　driven　all　big　breakthroughs　in　our　industry。　The　software　
business　as　we　have　known　it　is　a　scale　economic　busi…　

ness。　You　spend　a　ton　of　money　up　front　to　develop　a　software　product；　and　then　the　
marginal　cost　of　producing　each　one　is　very　small；　but　if　you　sell　a　lot　of　them；　
you　make　back　your　investment　and　then　plow　profits　back　into　developing　the　next　
generation。　But　when　you　insist　that　you　cannot　charge　for　software；　you　can　only　
give　it　away；　you　take　the　software　business　away　from　being　a　scale　economic　
business。〃　
Added　Bill　Gates；　〃You　need　capitalism　＇to　drive　innovation。＇　To　have　＇a　movement＇　
that　says　innovation　does　not　deserve　an　economic　reward　is　contrary　to　where　the　
world　is　going。　When　I　talk　to　the　Chinese；　they　dream　of　starting　a　company。　They　
are　not　thinking；　'I　will　be　a　barber　during　the　day　and　do　free　software　at　night。'。　。　。　
When　you　have　a　security　crisis　in　your　＇software＇　system；　you　don't　want　to　say；　
'Where　is　the　guy　at　the　barbershop？'〃　
As　wemove　into　this　flat　world；　and　you　have　this　massive　Web…enabled　global　workforce；　
with　all　these　collaborative　tools；there　will　be　no　project　too　small　for　some　members　
of　this　workforce　to　take　on；　or　copy；　or　modify…for　free。　Someone　out　there　will　
be　trying　to　produce　the　free　versions　of　every　kind　of　software　or　drug　or　music。　
〃So　how　will　products　retain　their　value？〃　asked　Mundie。　〃And　if　companies　cannot　
derive　fair　value　from　their　products；　will　innovation　move　forward　in　this　area；　
or　others；　at　the　speed　that　it　could　or　should？〃　Can　we　always　count　on　a　
self…organizing　open…source　movement　to　come　together　to　drive　things　forward　for　
free？　
It　seems　to　me　that　we　are　too　early　in　the　history　of　the　flattening　of　the　world　
to　answer　these　questions。　But　they　will　need　answers；　and　not　just　for　Microsoft。　
So　far…and　maybe　this　is　part　of　the　long…term　answer…Microsoft　has　been　able　to　count　
on　the　fact　that　the　only　thing　more　expensive　than　commercial　software　is　free　
software。　Few　big　companies　can　simply　download　Linux　off　the　Web　and　expect　it　to　
work　for　all　their　tasks。　A　lot　of　design　and　systems　engineering　needs　to　go　around　
it　and　on　top　of　it　to　tailor　it　to　a　company's　specific　needs；　especially　for　


sophisticated；　large…scale；　mission…critical　operations。　So　when　you　add　up　all　the　
costs　of　adapting　the　Linux　operating　system　to　the　needs　of　your　company　and　its　
specific　hardware　platform　and　applica102　
tions；　Microsoft　argues；　it　can　end　up　costing　as　much　as　or　more　than　Windows。　
The　second　issue　Microsoft　raises　about　this　whole　open…source　movement　has　to　do　
with　how　we　keep　track　of　who　owns　which　piece　of　any　innovation　in　a　flat　world；　
where　some　is　generated　for　free　and　others　build　on　it　for　profit。　Will　Chinese　
programmers　really　respect　the　rules　of　the　Free　Software　Foundation？　Who　will　govern　
all　this？　
〃Once　you　start　to　socialize　the　global　population　on　the　idea　that　software　or　any　
other　innovation　is　supposed　to　be　free；　a　lot　of　people　will　not　distinguish　between　
free　software；　free　pharmaceuticals；　free　music；　or　free　patents　on　car　designs；〃　
argued　Mundie。　There　is　some　truth　to　this。　I　work　for　a　newspaper；　that　is　where　
my　paycheck　comes　from。　But　I　believe　that　all　online　newspapers　should　be　free；　and　
on　principle　I　refuse　to　pay　for　an　online　subscription　to　The　Wall　Street　Journal。　
I　have　not　read　the　paper　copy　of　The　New　York　Times　regularly　for　two　years。　I　read　
it　only　online。　But　what　if　my　daughters'　generation；　which　is　being　raised　to　think　
that　newspapers　are　something　to　be　accessed　online　for　free；　grows　up　and　refuses　
to　pay　for　the　paper　editions？　Hmmm。　I　loved　Amazon。com　until　it　started　providing　
a　global　platform