Open Source's Achilles Heal (editorial)

shock has written an editorial on what he considers to be the Achilles Heal of open source software- his arguement is that "normal" applications (accounting, office suites, etc) will lag behind because they aren't as sexy for a programmer to get involved with (as opposed to the kernel, a web browser, The Gimp etc). Hit the link below and read what he has to say about it.

Open Source: The Achille's Heel

(or I Know I'll Catch Hell For This)

Open Source is a great idea. I don't think anyone can successfully argue that it isn't. While arguments do abound as to which products/applications derive the most benefit, overall I think everyone can agree that Open Source is a good idea. And Linux is proof positive that Open Source is more than theoretical. It is a very workable idea.

Let me give you a little background about myself. It might help you see where I'm coming from. I have a BBA in Mangement Information Systems. Now, when I received my degree, all of the computer courses were taught by and in the Computer Science department, not those wimpy business computer classrooms they have today. I had to write compilers along with all of the BBS majors. After graduation, I worked for Texas Instruments for seven years. I worked on everything from mainframes (yes, punch cards) to desktops, and I wrote programs varing from logging terminal usage to EDI. I've worked in the trenches taking 3:00 am phone calls when a system crashed to overseeing major projects in their Financial and Marketing Systems departments. One day, I decided I'd had all I could take. I quit and entered law school. I've been working as an attorney for the past two years, and - yes - I handle all of the system administration tasks in my law office, small though it may be. I also work as a computer consultant to many different law offices.

My purpose in telling you this is not to toot my own horn. My purpose is to show that I am intimately familiar with both the technical and business sides of the Open Source coin.

With all of this said, I believe Open Source has an Achille's Heel. A weakness. A shortcoming. And it remains to be seen whether it will cripple the movement or if the community can properly respond. This weakness is, simply put, boring applications don't get written.

For example, where is the Open Source accounting suite? Sure, there are some great checkbook programs. I can balance my checkbook on Linux. But can I track accounts payable? Can I maintain a general ledger? How about tracking the balance of an IOLTA account, where I maintain many different client accounts in one fund, and at any given time I have to be able to tell a client how much is in his or her account? I can easily do this with something like QuickBooks, but where is the Open Source answer?

Office suites? We all know this needs some work. Sure, Applix and Star Office are good products. But I can't use them in my office. I have clients who send me documents in many different formats. WordPerfect and MS Word can open every one of these documents, but Applix and Star Office can't.

As an attorney, my calendar is extremely important (if you ever get chewed by a judge in open court, you'll understand why). It's also important that my calendar seamlessly interface with my PIM, document manager and case manager. I need to be able to access a person in my PIM, and immediately be able to see what cases that person is involved with, which documents that person has sent me, and which I have sent that person. I need to be able to plan years in advance, and I need a tickle file to remind me about files I haven't worked on recently.

This is boring stuff. Compared to porting a game or working on something high profile, such as Mozilla, this is boring stuff. So, it's not getting written. And I can understand why. When I worked as a programmer, the last thing I wanted to spend my evenings doing was writing a financial application.

But these types of applications are necessary if Linux is to move from the network backbone to the desktop. Many attorneys and small businesses that I've worked with are always amazed at the capabilities Linux has to offer. Literally tens of thousands of attorneys are still using 386 and 486 DOS-based machines. They have never used Windows. They'd really like to, but you know what? They can't afford to upgrade every machine in their office (contrary to popular belief, not every attorney is a millionaire). Do you see where I'm going with this? There is a bountiful harvest laying before us. These people would use Linux. Believe me. But the applications simply aren't there.

Within the next two to three weeks, I'll be installing a Linux box in at least two law offices. Basically, it'll be their Internet server, using PPP and IP Masquerade. Each of these offices was such an easy sell. Once I explained the idea behind IP Masq, the converation proceeded something like this:

Attorney: Are you telling me that everyone in my office can access the Internet through this one machine, and I only have to buy one modem, add an additional phone line and get an account with an ISP?

Me: That's what I'm telling you.

Attorney: And this is free?

Me: Yes.

Attorney: And I can use the 486 computer?

Me: Yes. You might have to upgrade the modem.

Attorney: When can you get me set up?

Getting Linux into a law office is easy. And I know that if the applications were there, Linux could be making some really huge strides - at least in my neck of the woods.

Now, I know what the probable response to this is: Shock, get off your ass and write your own calendar/PIM/case management program. Well, I am. Actually, I'm only in the design stage, but I am working on it. >From my perspective, time is on my side. I have no intention of upgrading my office to Windows NT. However, many others do, and once they make the investment in Windows NT, it is highly unlikely that they'll move to Linux. No one invests that much cash into a project simply to turn and walk away.

So, in my opinion, the real weakness for Open Source is the lack of really boring programs. Unfortunately, we need these programs. It's the only way we'll get Linux from the network to the desktop.