Monday, March 27, 2006

Open Source is addictive

There is something I am really convinced about: open source is addictive. I am so convinced I had it written on a t-shirt, which we are giving out at CTIA next week in Las Vegas. If you are interested in it, just let me know.

Now, what do I mean with "open source is addictive"?

I do not think it is addictive as a drug, it is more like chocolate. You try some, then you want more, then you go back to work and you still want more. I started using open source in the days of the slackware distro, with the N1-N2... floppies for the network. I got hooked. I cannot get enough.

There is one very good reason: open source produces better software. You do not get addicted to crappy chocolate, only to the good one.

If you are an IT manager and you taste Linux + MySQL + Jboss... well, you like it and just want more. That helps everybody in this industry, from my friends at SugarCRM, to the guys at Alfresco (including Matt, who is coming to my house tomorrow to watch Arsenal lose win), to Funambol.

The next wave of computing is MOBILE. If you tried open source in some part of your IT organization or in a project, once it comes to extend the data to your mobile devices, where are you going to look? At Microsoft? At RIM? Bad food which leaves a bitter taste in your mouth? I do not think so. You are going for mobile open source. Trust me. You like good chocolate.