Can Computer Software Be Built To Last?

Can computer software be built to last? That question has been preoccupying software designer Dan Bricklin, who helped kick-start the personal computer revolution in the 1980s as co-inventor of VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet.

These days, Bricklin is developing software programs, writing a weblog, speaking to technology groups, and consulting from his perch at Software Garden Inc., which he runs from his Newton, MA home. The focus of his work is open-source software and alternative business models for the companies that make and sell it.

For Bricklin, recently named by Governor Romney to a state information technology advisory panel, open source is key to creating ''Software That Lasts 200 Years," the title of a call to action he wrote and posted on his blog. His essay argues that the structure and culture of most prepackaged software companies -- marked by constant upgrades and replacement -- isn't compatible with society's long-term need for the software that is fast becoming part of our basic infrastructure.

"The world is different now than it was even just a decade or two ago," Bricklin writes. 'In more and more cases, there are no paper records. People expect all information to be available at all times and for new uses, just as they expect to drive the latest vehicle over an old bridge or fill a new high-tech water bottle from an old well's pump."

In addition to keeping records, software today contols and monitors everything from traffic lights to generating plants, Bricklin says. But to produce software as durable as roads, bridges, and other parts of physical infrastructure, he contends we need a new software ecosystem and a new style of software development.

One feature of Bricklin's ecosystem is ''modular" architecture enabling software applications to continue working even as hardware, operating systems, and other platforms change. Another is greater "transparency" in software code to find needed changes.

Bricklin believes funding for software development should come from users, rather than private sources of capital, and that software projects should be targeted at more than one customer. But he also thinks long-term software is best developed by businesses, using transparency and exploiting other attributes of open-source software.

Some of these ideas are being tested by the new Government Open Code Collaborative, which has created a government software repository.

[Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is a name for computer programs in which the source code is freely available and freely distributed. It is the opposite of today's software business model, where source code is a closely guarded secret. It's been around for over 20 years; in the past few years FOSS has made serious intrusions into software markets.

Think about this: if high quality software can be acquired and/or produced for little or no cost, then it can be distributed for little or no cost. Instead of a $495 Microsoft Office, you can get very good office suite that operates just like MS Office - for free! Instead of a new, high-powered computer which includes the "Microsoft tax" - the licensing fee for Microsoft Windows - you can get a few more years out of the older computer which doesn't need Windows to operate. You can run the computer using the less power-hungry operating system called Linux.

It also means that that the software and hardware markets are driven by consumers' demands, rather than by a supplier's arbitrary use of power. These days, every hardware manufacturer and most commercial software developers attempt to get Microsoft's blessing on any innovations. To do otherwise is risking ruin. The streets of Silicon Valley are littered with the debris of companies who got into Microsoft's cross-hairs. This rapidly growing business model (FOSS) does not have to kneel before Bill Gates. Trust me, Bill Gates is truly, truly frightened.]

"We're building a society where we're dependent on software," Bricklin said in an interview. "We don't want to upgrade everything every two years when a platform changes. You can't go to a Fidelity and say, 'Rewrite all your stuff.' People won't put up with that."

Bricklin acknowledges that open-source software scares many traditional software developers because it has the potential to undermine the business model with which they are most familiar. Ultimately, though, he sees the viability of new business models where companies make their money by maintaining applications, training users, and providing security.

The idea of extending the life of software is gaining traction in academia, said Bala R. Iyer, assistant professor of information systems at Boston University's School of Management. Iyer said he asks students to envision software as a "stack," with the lower layers -- the operating system, core services, and middleware such as database management systems -- becoming more stable and longer-lasting.

"If you develop in a modular fashion, with well-defined interfaces and good standards, you can get longevity," Iyer said. But he questioned Bricklin's vision of software that can last 200 years. "That seems a bit of a stretch," Iyer said. "I think he is challenging us."

Bricklin is clearly doing that as he reimagines the software landscape. "I don't know where things are going," he admitted. "I just know it's very fertile. And as an innovator, I look for fertile fields."

Am I sure that this guy's opinions are worth hearing? Before Dan Bricklin, personal computers were mostly for home use, and mostly for games. Dan Bricklin's software, VisiCalc, made desktop computers useful in business. The rest is history. Everyone one of today's software billionaires owes Dan Bricklin far more than any of them would acknowledge. They paid attention to him 25 years ago. But it's still not too late for you.

For what it's worth, I produce most of my blog entries using a Linux-powered computer and free software.

Do As I Say, Don't Do As I Do

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist thinks it's crass and shameful to exploit someone's misery for political purposes. Or at least, he USED to think that way.

Last October, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist attacked Sen. John Edwards over a comment the Democratic vice presidential candidate made regarding actor Christopher Reeve.

Edwards said Reeve, who died Sunday, "was a powerful voice for the need to do stem cell research and change the lives of people like him."

"If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again," Edwards said.
[note: Edwards did so with the blessing and appreciation of the Reeves family]

"I find it opportunistic to use the death of someone like Christopher Reeve -- I think it is shameful -- in order to mislead the American people," Frist said. "We should be offering people hope, but neither physicians, scientists, public servants or trial lawyers like John Edwards should be offering hype.

"It is cruel to people who have disabilities and chronic diseases, and, on top of that, it's dishonest. It's giving false hope to people, and I can tell you as a physician who's treated scores of thousands of patients that you don't give them false hope." CNN: October 12, 2004

Atrios' take on this

Clairvoyant Medical Care

Dear Senator/Doctor Frist:

Under separate cover, you'll find a video tape of me. Please give it a quick look and tell me if my current medical regimen is correct. I know that you can make such determinations with little data, because you did it just the other day.

If you have any doubts, please consult with your colleague and esteemed man of medicine, Dr. Tom Delay.

Oh, and please, please show Dr. Delay an anatomy book. Some people say that he doesn't know his ass from an elbow; that can't be true. Of course, he might too busy trying to dodge his ethics and campaign finance problems to learn anything about internal medicine or persistent vegetative state or stuff like that. In that case, just tell him this:

Persistent Vegetative State: Of or relating to an impaired level of brain function in which a person responds to certain sensory stimuli but demonstrates no cognitive function.

One last thing: I'm so glad that you told that runt Stephanopolus that HIV is NOT spread through tears and sweat. Other than listening to the President, where else could he get such a stupid notion?

Just like Columbo, I'm very good with these 'one last thing' questions. I know it's more math than medicine, but you have shown a remarkable talent for getting your large hospital chains at least its fair share of medicare money.

Anyway, here's the question: of all of the congressional reps and senators who worked last week, how many were doing something important, and how many were simply grandstanding?

SAT Test Answers From 16 year-old Students

The following questions and answers were collected from SAT tests given to 16 year old students in Springdale, Arkansas in the year 2000! (Don't laugh too hard - one of these students may be the president someday. Another reason to not laugh too hard: this could well be a hoax)

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to
drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large
pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: What is a planet?
A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water
tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon,
and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A: Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (E.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax and
the abdominal cavity. The branium contains the brain, the borax contains
the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels,
A, E, I, O and U.

Q: What is the Fibula?
A: A small lie. (My favorite)

Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.

Q: What is the most common form of birth control?
A: Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section."
A: The caesarean section is a district in Rome.

Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor. (Duh!)

Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport

Q: Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A: Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and so they look like
umbrellas.

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Q: What is a turbine?
A: Something an Arab wears on his head.

Q: What's a Hindu?
A: It lays eggs.

'Nuff Said?

Study At MIT (Yes, That MIT)

Pick a class, learn at your own pace.

From Architecture to Mechanical Engineering to Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's OpenCourseWare puts hundreds of actual MIT courses at your fingertips, free of charge. Find a class that interests you and check out the lecture notes, syllabus, assignments, study materials, and more. Learn at your own pace, on your own time.

Hey! You could honestly tell people "I studied xxx at MIT, but I got my degree from Red State U"

Where Do Words Come From?

Words are not created in a vacuum. Modern words, more often than not, have roots in older words from other languages.

An Etymology Dictionary can help you discover how your favorite word came to be. Think of it as "wordolgy"

Yes, everybody's favorite 4-letter word is in there......