OSBC Thoughts
Thanks to Mike Olson giving me a complimentary pass from Matt Asay, I got to go along to the Open Source Business Conference. I managed to catch several sessions yesterday and the keynotes this morning. Two points struck me, neither specific to OSBC.
Open source business models are sometimes discussed in comparison with historical processes or outcomes. It can be fun but is hard to be convincing with any authority. For me, it weakens many sessions I've seen. It's OK to have quotes from historical figures, but any more than this has often looked like extrapolation without data. We should leave Economic History to the professionals, or to the very smart. Or the very convincing.
The second thought is the common statement that there is zero lock-in in open source. You will have a hard time convincing me this is true in areas where time and money matter.
