Open Source and Badger Hunting
That Dog Just Won’t Hunt
Ms. Singleton back at Bishop State Community College would tell chemistry students, “That Dog Won’t Hunt!” when they’d emote an incorrect answer to her Socratic line of questioning. Knee jerk responses not ground in the laws of science or mathematics were not acceptable.
Similarly, Open Office may not be an ideal replacement at Big Company to MS Office “lock-in” at many companies due to the various realities created by existing patents, proprietary trade secrets or corporate thug life (had to toss in an urban contemporary plug). The Open Source dog may not be capable of seamless and costless integration into Big Company’s zeitgeist but does that mean that like America before the light bulb, that we ignore Thomas Alva Edison?
Go ahead and say it: I evangelize Open Source because I’m an advocate for the underdog, period. Absolutely! I stand so accused, believing that even if a lowly canine suddenly decides that he wants better than Alpo and rolling frolicks on the front lawn with his paws raised high to the sky, that he’s fully entitled to do so. If Rex wants to read The Canterbury Tales and adopt the life of an English gentleman, then we should let him lest we also risk becoming flea-ridden.
The Dachshund: Hot Dog Long On Purpose
America advanced rapidly because of her diverse workforce that consisted of bondsmen as well as immigrants that implemented tremendous ideas that advanced the industrial era and mass production beyond anything that was possible elsewhere. She became a beacon that the rest of the world sought by any means at their disposal and left behind were the twin dinosaurs of bureaucracy and big brother immersed in post feudalism.
Supporting this thought train, there was a dog in Germany with a pointed snout, tubular body and short, stubby legs. A peculiar site, he was no threat to the turf of the Greyhounds, Saint Bernard or Dalmatian. However, he could breach a hole, seize prey and be retrieved by his hunter due to his long tail. That’s no wiener schnitzel! Dachshunds survive today as a respected breed but were bred for a specific purpose: Badger Hunting
Like the zeitgeist propelling the American Experiment, Open Source is diversity in action; it’s not encumbered by CALs (Client Access Licenses) since the availability of zero-cost distribution frees the maximum number of minds to accomplish the one thing that large businesses laying off hundreds of thousands while soliciting corporate welfare from a government in need of infrastructure revitalization cannot: Productivity
If you’ve ever used an Open Source application, OS or web-authoring system like Open Office, Linux/Ubuntu, Acquia perhaps, you know about ease of download and usability and also that feedback is strongly encouraged. Small business is the backbone of our nation and nimbleness in quickly addressing market needs is the backbone of small business. Open Source applications free up resources for small businesses to better serve clients. In this downturn, isn’t it worth having a new breed of dachshund retrieving badgers from the holes of lost profit?
