Comment by veidr

8 years ago

> winning everywhere

I like open source as much as the next guy, but I'm pretty sure you have a peculiar definition of "everywhere".

(Or, perhaps "winning".)

The internet primarily runs on open source software. Your browser is primarily open source software, unless it's IE/Edge, but let's be serious here. Your phone - primarily open source, unless it's WP/BB, but again, let's be serious.

The desktop/laptop you're using right now probably isn't open source, but much of the important software running on it is, and most of the computers it talks to are, and most of the other computers, obvious or hidden, in your life are too.

  • Not to mention that pretty much all of the services you use are mostly a glue layer over open source projects/libraries/services, including its OS and all those services.

  • "Your phone - primarily open source"

    Is the iPhone actually primarily open source? There's certainly parts of iOS that are but I had no idea it was the majority of it.

    • Mac OS is made of large swathes of open source code... but before publishing the source of the kernel, Apple runs a script to strip out anything iOS-specific.

      That's just one example but I think it portrays Apple's iOS-OSS relationship pretty well.

    • The vast majority of phone is Android, though. One of the reasons I'd always recommend Android to friends and family is the open source component, even if said friends and family have no direct benefit from it (only indirect, through open source stuff being used and us being able to look at it and improve it).