[Elecraft] Firmware development

[weaverwf at usermail.com]

I understated my previous post a bit. All of the TOP 500 supercomputers run a derivaion of an open source operating system per the wikipedia page.

73,
Bill WE5P

Comfortably Numb

> On Nov 27, 2020, at 15:26, weaverwf at usermail.com wrote:
> 
> 
> You are exactly right Len. A majority of the worlds biggest super computers are run on open source software (Not Windows :)). The June 2020 list here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOP500. Android devices, imbedded devices, most web browsers etc. The list goes on and on.
> 
> it’s about quality developers and a quality development process. Elecraft surely has the market cornered in both aspects for both hardware and software.
> 
> 73,
> Bill WE5P
> 
> Comfortably Numb
> 
>>> On Nov 27, 2020, at 14:29, len at ka7ftp.com wrote:
>>> 
>> " OpenSSL pretty much runs the entire secure Internet. Linux, Python, etc.
>> 
>> But those are exceptions."
>> 
>> And an interesting statistic...
>> 
>> "It's often said that more than half of new businesses fail during the first year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this isn't necessarily true. Data from the BLS shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. These statistics haven't changed much over time, and have been fairly consistent since the 1990s.1 Though the odds are better than the commonly held belief, there are still many businesses that are closing down every year in the United States."
>> 
>> It seems that this thread has become the whipping boy for open source.  I would suggest that it is irrelevant whether something is open or closed source.  Much of the "stuff" we buy today is created and sold in a one off runs  from China.  Once produced it is sold at Walmart and few people care how long it works, as long as it's cheap.  For the few who care most stores will do a "no questions asked" refund.  And then the consumer is off to buy another piece of junk.
>> 
>> Open source projects are often created by a single individual , or a few people, who care about creating a "thing".  There is often no thought about money, profit, or even maintaining the project.  There are a few that gain traction and in some cases change the world.  I'm sure it's more than the few projects that we have all listed in this thread that thrive. It's no different than the stats above on business.  Unless you can create something that is useful and compel people to buy and use, the product will eventually cease to evolve and the company will probably die.  Many open source projects reach maturity when the goals of the project are meet.  Those project are often abandoned...  Not really that different from a business that no longer innovates.
>> 
>> This seems like a silly debate to continue demonizing one method or another.   Both methods are valid and are based of different motivations. And in reality they are indifferent to our opinions...  
>> 
>> I think the question originally raised was as to the possibility of open sourcing the older Elecraft code.  My guess is that may not happen for a lot of reasons.    As long as Elecraft is doing well in business why would they freely part with their intellectual property, I wouldn't.  
>> 
>> len
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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