I.NFECTIO.US

One of the problems with todays society is the close-mindedness of its occupants. It's especially prevalent in the programming world. I typically refer to them as zealots. I'll list the 3 groups that I see as the most damaging to my profession below. (I'll get back to the title of the article momentarily, keep an open-mind as you read this, it has a happy ending.)

Programming Language Evangelists

This group comes in a variety of breeds. C, C++, C# Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, Delphi and Visual Basic. Take your pick and you will find programmers who utterly refuse to believe there could be any other option. I have yet to talk with another programmer that changed languages based on the 'but look at all the cool things my language can do that yours can't' argument. If anything, it just reaffirms that their language choice is that much better.

The Open Source Cult

Giving back to the open-source community is a choice not a requirement. It's when you tell me I have to, that you cross the line. I had a heated debate with an open-source zealot at work a few months back when we were going to modify a GPL'd PHP application and use it to generate revenue from our customers. We were not planning on redistributing the application, just hosting it on our site. He was adamant that we were legally and morally bound to submit our changes back to the author. Well, you don't have to go to Harvard Business School to understand the concept of competitive advantage. We were doing this to generate revenue not to feel good about ourselves. Before you thrash me, let me say that ALL of us use open source products to generate revenue.

Here's his email that started it all (emphasis added):

Hi Bob,

GPL (General Public License):

excerpted:

"If you modify your copy or copies of the program or any portion of it, 
or develop a program based upon it, you may distribute the resulting 
work provided you do so under the GNU General Public License. Any 
translation of the GNU General Public License must be accompanied by the 
GNU General Public License."


**PHPSurveyor is, in fact, GPLed.

You would probably be better served by looking for code with a less 
restrictive license, if in fact you desire to incorporate it in a 
non-GPLed derivative. I would recommend looking for something licensed 
under the BSD scheme:

http://www.opensource.org/*license*s/*bsd*-*license*.php

Apple successfully used BSD licensed code (Darwin) to create their 
(very) proprietary OS X.

Hope this helps!

IANAL, but  I have a pretty extensive background  in licensing issues.

Now, I am not a lawyer either, but I'm pretty sure even a lawyer would understand the difference between the words *may* and *must*. And just to be sure, I emailed the FSF for verification and got a reply from Zak Greant (a volunteer):

Dear Bob,

The case you cite is not distribution under the terms and 
conditions of the GPL.

Thanks for writing,
Zak Greant

Vindicated! It's this kind of attitude and mis-understanding of the open-source movement that causes people to either love it or hate it. Life is full of choices, take away my choice and you take away my life.

MAC Lovers

These are the worst offenders of all. It's okay to believe in a product and have your own opinion of its merits over another platform, but to flat out refuse to accept that someone may have a different opinion or experience is a bit immature and ignorant. It's the my daddy can beat your daddy up argument from your childhood. For this specific reason, I have rejected even considering Mac for fear others might see me as a close-minded, immature idiot who's daddy got his butt whooped by his friend's Dad when he was 5 years old.

And now, the rest of the story...

I've used Windows exclusively since 1995. Literally, the only time I have touched a Mac was when I tried to turn one on about 7 years ago. After 5 minutes of looking for the freakin power button, I finally swallowed my pride and asked for help, after all, I'm a computer professional, I know how to turn on a computer! I wonder how many drinks an engineer at Apple had before he thought of putting the power button on the damn keyboard.

With that said, I'm at a point in my life where I'm trying things I never would have tried a few years ago. For instance, now I actually use the hot mustard they bring you with a plate of pork fried rice. On occasion, I even stick a few pieces of brocolli in my bowl at our local Mongolian restaurant.

Two weeks ago, I decided to put aside my trusty companion for so many years, PHP, and give Ruby a try; sorry PHP, you've been good to me, but its time to move on. Once again, I've reaped the rewards of having an open-mind and trying new things. Well, today, I made the biggest step of all. I'm not sure if someone spiked my Coke at lunch, but afterwards, I went back to my office and ordered a brand spanking new MacBook Pro with a 30" cinema display. While I'm a little anxious and a little excited, I do have one major concern about my decision.

Does it come with instructions for how to turn it on?

PS: I haven't told my wife yet, so keep it on the low down.