Netcraft Interviews Brian Behlendorf 77
thejackol writes "The co-founder of the Apache Web Server Project and the First Chief Engineer at Wired Magazine was interviewed by Netcraft's Rich Miller about Netcraft's growth, the SCO case's unexpected benefits and changing the world through software. Excerpt: 'It's a good rebuke to the cynical but widespread notion that all it takes is a big pot of gold to litigate your competition out of existance or otherwise win a legal challenge. Good did prevail in the end. Hopefully it won't make us too cocky, because the next challenge could be much harder to fight.'"
Apache shows what is right with OSS (Score:5, Insightful)
The GNU/Linux project could learn a lot from these guys.
Re:Apache shows what is right with OSS (Score:5, Insightful)
That was a joke, at least for me. But many clients don't see it as a joke, they see it as a serious obstacle to using OSS. Fortune 500 companies with Microsoft networks, servers, procedures - they're unlikely to adopt an "unsupported" product like Apache. I say unsupported because Microsoft doesn't support it, and they already have support contracts for MS products. They don't have their toes in the water, they're bathing in it.
You can't use many of your ASP apps on Apache (even if you have Chilisoft!). We have clients that turned to us because we can do ASP/SQL Server, and the competition couldn't. The other quote was cheaper, too.
Re:Apache shows what is right with OSS (Score:1)
alright, I have *finally* done it ... (Score:2)
YOU FUCKING IDIOTS
Re:alright, I have *finally* done it ... (Score:2)
My comment was simply pointing out that companies with a solid investment in Microsoft products are unlikely to stray from that path. Especially on a risky venture like any of the thousands of open-source projects that DON'T make it big. You could invest your company's resources in Microsoft (who's been around, offers support, and isn't likely to disappear in the next few years) or you could spend less but possibly end up with a product
Re:Apache shows what is right with OSS (Score:1)
Never heard of the `GNU/Linux project'. Am I missing something?
Re:Apache shows what is right with OSS (Score:1)
It has decent documentation.
The program can be as robust and straightforward as the programmers want it to--but if it has crappy documentation, you're fsck'd. Apache has decent documentation online and a great FAQ. It wouldn't be where it is today if it didn't, IMHO.
Hillarity.. (Score:2, Interesting)
Now if he'd only bring back V-rave..
Re:Hillarity.. (Score:1)
Don't forget that Hyperreal's also hosting a lot of other music related lists, IDM and ambient for instance...
np: Vladislav Delay - Kohmeessa (Demo(n) Tracks)
Re:Hillarity.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hillarity.. (Score:1)
Left summer of '93 to move to NYC.
My personal fave of the time was the outdoor dancing at mission rock, with they guy doing video toaster on his amiga, and those huge ass speakers!
Re:Hillarity.. (Score:2)
telnet sfraves.stanford.edu 7283
How many kids from back in the day are still into the music scene I wonder.. A friend of mine actually runs a mailorder store and i now have a horrible addiction to cheesy synthpop but i'm not sure its the same
-bloo (avi)
vrave (Score:1)
Actually, they do talk occasionally about bringing vrave back up, but I hope they don't--my productivity went way down every afternoon while it was still active.
True story: My (now) wife and I set our wedding date on vrave.
not over (Score:2, Offtopic)
I wasn't aware the SCO case was over.
Re:not over (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:not over (Score:2)
Is it likely that once IBM have finished annhilating SCO, are they then going to start a fresh lawsuit against them for damages?
As Groklaw pointed out, SCO made some outrageous claims against IBM.. and although this seems to have had completely the oppostite effect to the IBM & the Linux movement as whole that SCO imagined, are IBM likely to still sue and just firmly bur
Re:not over (Score:2, Informative)
import net.groklaw.IANAL;
No its not over! (Score:2)
Lets go back to the Microsoft Antri-trust trials. MS has been deemed a monopolist and what happened? Nada, zip, zilch, zero, the big doughnut! So even if SCO looses maybe they will win on some other things.
Who knows what the judge will do and say. Logic does not play any role here...
Correction (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Correction (Score:1)
A good rebuke? (Score:4, Insightful)
SCO are attacking IBM. Pots of gold don't come a great deal bigger than the ones IBM have at their disposal.
Cheers,
Ian
Re:A good rebuke? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:A good rebuke? (Score:1)
Which open-source program got squashed by the evil patent weilding satanic cult? I must've slept in that day.
IBM isn't going away (Score:2)
All it takes is a big pot of gold to litigate your competition out of existence, but don't try it if your competition has a bigger pot of gold.
Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a dog eat dog world. Look at the NO 1's and look at the best product and they are not the same. To get to the top lawsuits, strong arming and many more things are used. That's just life.
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:2, Funny)
Except in the case of web servers
no! faulty legal system. (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:2)
The opposite is always a possibility (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:4, Insightful)
The problem I have with your using an evolutionary metaphor is that applying it to capitalism is just what leads to social Darwinism. Microsoft probably firmly believes it, to the extent they belive that being selected by the forces of the market is the same as being at the predestined peak of the natural order.
It isn't. If ignoring security is really that potent a failing to nature, then nature will select against Microsoft. If millions of people were wrong about the relative importance of security, then nature will select against them too. Public opinion is not a court of no appeal - Natural Selection is.
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:2)
But as for so
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:4, Insightful)
Sadly, there are few markets where being 'best' automagically makes you number one. Factors such as installed base, brand perception and pure and simple FUD can always swing things for a far poorer product.
Re:Litigate your competition out of existance? (Score:2)
OS/2 was far superior to the current offerings by Microsoft, and was never able to gain enough market share.
Behlendorf on SCO: Legal Cannibalism? (Score:5, Interesting)
-kgj
hyperreal (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe a bit too underground for your average CV
Re:hyperreal (Score:1)
What a funny world...
Best? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Best? (Score:2, Interesting)
If IIS was their first then it would probably be a different picture.
But then again the internet thing was Microsoft's first big screwup. They didn't take it serious and thus Unix was able to easy maintain it's dominance.
Now that they are trying, it's to late and most people are too smart now to drink the IIS koolaid.
But then again we have dotNet. But that's what Mono is for.
Then people will have no excuse against continueing to using Apache. Good stuff
Re:Best? (Score:3, Insightful)
While Apache was originally "a patchy" version of NCSA's httpd, they still did things right, or they wouldn't have taken off in the environment at the time; NCSA or another offshoot would have stayed dominant. The Apache folks did the right things, and not *just* with the software (although they certainly did a fine job there!)
Even with IIS's problems, until recently, IIS were was gaining market share and threatening to tak
Best quote I've seen in a while! (Score:3)
So *that's* Darl's problem...
Why Netcraft results are somewhat skewed? (Score:2)
"Domain parking".
I have three domains registered and parked with Tucows International. They all look like they are Linux boxes running Apache.
I'm not saying that I wouldn't deploy that combination, if the domains were live instead of parked, but it's pretty clear that the Netcraft numbers have some skew to them.
To be clear about this, there's a similar skew towards IIS on some parking hosts.
Maybe Netcraft could block inclusion of domain parking hosts?