Preview

Linux vs Windows

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4777 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Linux vs Windows
The Economics of Open Source Software Development Jiirgen Bitzer and Philipp J. H. Srhroder (Editurs) O 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Linux vs. Windows: A Comparison of Application and Platform Innovation Incentives for Open Source and Proprietary Software Platforms
Nicholas Economides and Evangelos Katsamakas

ABSTRACT
The chapter analyzes and compares the investment incentives of platform and application developers for Linux and Windows. We find that the level of investment in applications is larger when the operating system is open source rather than proprietary. The comparison of the levels of investment in the operating systems depends, among others, on reputation effects and the number of developers. The chapter also develops a short case study comparing Windows and Linux and identifies new directions for open source software research. Keywords: Open Source Software, operating systems, technology platforms, Linux, innovation incentives. JEL Classification: L 10, L86, L3 1.

10.1 INTRODUCTION
Open source software is an emerging type of software that may fundamentally affect the business and economic features of the software industry. Linux, an open source operating system, has been the prominent example of the potential of the open source movement, competing against Microsoft Windows, the incumbent operating system.

208

Nicholas Economides and Evangelos Katsamkas

This chapter analyzes the incentives to invest in application software and an operating system under two different software ecosystems: one based on an open source operating system, such as Linux, and the other based on a proprietary operating system, such as Microsoft Windows. We build a model extending Economides and Katsamakas (2005) to compare the innovation incentives of application developers and operating system developers for Linux and Windows. In our model, firms and developers invest to improve the quality of the platform or the application and expand the demand by


References: Bitzer, J., 2004. Commercial vs. open source software: The role of product heterogeneity in competition. Economic Systems, 28(4), 369-381. Bitzer, J. and P. J. H. Schroder, 2003. Competition and Innovation in a Technology Setting Software Duopoly. DIW Discussion Paper No. 363. Casadesus-Masanell, R. and P. Ghemawat, 2003. Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows. Harvard Business School Working Paper 04-012. Comino S. and F. Manenti, 2005. Government policies supporting open source software for the mass market. Review of Industrial Organizaiion, 26(2), 217-240. DiBonna, C. and S. Ockman, 1999. Open Sources: Voices front the Open Source Rei~olution. O 'Reilly & Associates, Sebastopol, USA. Economides, N. and E. Katsamakas, 2006. Two-sided competition of proprietary vs. open-source technology platforms. Management Science, forthcoming. Fink, M., 2003. The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, USA. Franke, N. and E. von Hippel, 2003. Satisfying heterogeneous user needs via innovation toolkits: The case of Apache security software. Research Policy, 32(7), 1199-1215. Johnson, J. P., 2002. Open source software: Private provision of a public good. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 1l(4). 637-662. Lemer, J. and J. Tirole, 2001. The open source movement: Key research questions. European Economic Review, 45(4-6), 819-826. Lemer, J. and J. Tirole, 2002. Some simple economics of open source. Journal of Industrial Economics, 50(2), 197-234. Lerner, J. and J. Tirole, 2004. The Economics of Technology Sharing: Open Source and Beyond. NBER Working Paper No. 10956. Lessig, L., 2001. The Future of Ideas. Random House, New York, USA. Mustonen, M., 2003. Copyleft - the economics of Linux and other open source software. Informulion Economics and Policy, 15(1), 99-121. Mustonen, M., 2005. When does a firm support substitute open source programming. Journal qf Econontics and Munugm~entStrategy, 14(1), 121-139. Raymond, E. S., 2001. The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. O 'Reilly & Associates, Sebastopol. USA. von Hippel, E., 2005. Denlocratizing Innovation. MIT Press, Cambridge, USA.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Unit 1 Chapter Exercise
    • 649 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Unit 1 Chapter Exercise

    Free software is code that is available for free to everyone. It is free to be studied, redistributed, and modified.…

    • 649 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 3 Assignment 1 - Choosing Port Scanning Software
    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Unit 3 Assignment 1 - Choosing Port Scanning Software

    Openness: Open Source systems are usually designed with integration in mind; whereas commercial systems have business motivations to lock organizations into a closed system.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    It302 Research Assignment 4.1 (Open Source)
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It302 Research Assignment 4.1 (Open Source)

    FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) had some trouble in 2006 when Microsoft submitted 235 patents that were allegedly violated by FOSS. Microsoft created these patents in order to collect royalties from companies in the “free world” (companies/people using free software). Eben Moglen of the Free Software Foundation contended that software is a mathematical algorithm and is not patentable. Moglen wrote, “It’s a tinderbox. As the commercial confrontation between free software and software-that’s-a-product becomes more fierce, patent law’s going to be the terrain on which a big piece of the war’s going to be fought.” FOSS has powerful corporate patrons and allies. So if Microsoft ever tried to sue Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Nt1310 Unit 7 Data And Communication Methods
    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nt1310 Unit 7 Data And Communication Methods

    Open standards are designed to create a fair market over which no one can take advantage over or monopolize. These standards are applied across all companies so that all devices are compatible with each other by a minimum standard. This allows a situation such as an OS X computer to access a website run by Linux-based web server. Open standards at the heart encourage interoperability, competition, and innovation, rather than restricted nature of proprietary standards.…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    INDIA RILEY LINUX NETWORKING NT 1430
    • 1455 Words
    • 4 Pages

    INDIA RILEY LINUX NETWORKING NT 1430

    2. What is the Free Software Foundation/GNU? Linux? Which parts of the GNU/Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and refine this operating system?…

    • 1455 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 1 assignment 1
    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Unit 1 assignment 1

    4. What is the free software foundation/GNU? What is Linux? Which parts of the Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    MIS 301 txtbook notes chapter 1
    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    MIS 301 txtbook notes chapter 1

    Open Source Software-computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Linux Kernel and Free Software
    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Linux Kernel and Free Software

    4. What is the Free Software Foundation/GNU? What is Linux? Which parts of the Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and refine this operating system?…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    unit 1
    • 641 Words
    • 2 Pages

    unit 1

    4. What is the Free Software Foundation/GNU? Linux? Which parts of the Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and refine this operating system?…

    • 641 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The World’s Biggest Software Maker
    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The World’s Biggest Software Maker

    The world’s biggest software maker felt that it had been robbed, so much so that they posted a high-level summary of 235 patents that were allegedly violated by Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), including the Linux Kernel, Samba, OpenOffice.org, and others .Microsoft does not play when it comes to patent infringement, but did they have a case?”… So if Microsoft ever sued Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows. It 's a cold war, and what keeps the peace is the threat of mutually assured destruction: patent Armageddon an unending series of suits and countersuits that would hobble the industry and its customers.” (Parloff may 28, 2007). Shortly after that, Microsoft entered into a series of three contracts with Novell, one of which was a patent agreement that basically said, “Don’t sue us and we won’t sue you.” So now the question is “At the time of the scenario, some dire consequences were predicted for FOSS. How has FOSS fared since then?” From what I have researched so far FOSS generally has still faired fairly well through the whole ordeal. The GNU still viewed as a pinnacle for open source software and distribution. The Deal with Novell was made to walk around the GPL of the GNU and expose loop holes for Microsoft’s gain but also creating a pressing dilemma for the GNU. The deal struck between Novell and Microsoft was a “we don’t sue you and you don’t sue us” which indicates that not only was FOSS involved in patent infringement but also Microsoft. The Deal included over 200 million dollars to Novell and 43 Million to Microsoft for “license distribution” of Novells’ Server software. Linux has grown from its earlier days as a fringe operating, evolving more and becoming more wide spread as a use for servers.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 1 Exercise
    • 664 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chapter 1 Exercise

    What is the Free Software Foundation/GNU? What is Linux? Which parts of the Linux operating system did each provide? Who else has helped build and refine this operating system?The GNU is a completely free (in the freedom sense) operating system built by Richard Stallman and many of its components, except for the kernel, were completed in the early '90s. Linus Torvalds wrote the kernel for Linux, which was also intended to be a free operating system, in the early '90s. The two systems then were combined together to finish Linux, with it's original kernel and added features supplied by GNU. Linux was born off the internet with hundreds of people helping to develop it in its early years.…

    • 664 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Microsoft; Free Open Source Software (Foss)
    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Microsoft; Free Open Source Software (Foss)

    software. This is true, not just here in the USA but all over the world.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Discussion Paper
    • 9801 Words
    • 40 Pages

    Discussion Paper

    Bibliography: on the Economics of Compatibility Standards and Standardization," mimeo Greenstein, Shane M. (1997) "Lock-in and the Costs of Switching Mainframe Computer Vendors: What Do Buyers See?" Industrial and Corporate Change, 6(2), pp 247-273. Gowrisankaran, Gautam, and Joanna Stavins (2000) "Network Externalities and Technology Adoption: Lessons from Electronic Payments” mimeo, University of Minnesota.…

    • 9801 Words
    • 40 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Software as a Service: Perpetual Versus Saas Sales Licensing Models
    • 7376 Words
    • 30 Pages

    Software as a Service: Perpetual Versus Saas Sales Licensing Models

    Lindman, J., Rossi, M. & Puustell, A. 2011. Matching open source software licenses with corresponding business models. IEEE Software. July/August 2011.…

    • 7376 Words
    • 30 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Real World Case Study 3, "IBM Corporation: Competing Globally by Offshoring IT Workers and Giving Away Technology.”
    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Real World Case Study 3, "IBM Corporation: Competing Globally by Offshoring IT Workers and Giving Away Technology.”

    To keep up with the growing demand for new software and product solutions it is imperative that IBM embrace and support open solution software products like Linux. As the saying goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Linux is growing by leaps and bound and is quickly surpassing the software maker like Microsoft who at this point does not specialize in open source software. If they do not adapt to the new way that software is being used they will be just another software company that has been left behind.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics