One open-source project dies while another is reborn: Linspire vs. Chandler
You may have noticed late last week that Linspire was officially retired. Or perhaps you didn't. No matter. Given Linspire's rocky history with the GPL and its inability to get traction with consumers, it's an unsurprising move as Xandros seeks to consolidate its assets.
Of perhaps more note is the fact that the Open Source Applications Foundation finally released version 1.0 of its Chandler program. Glyn Moody tries to put a happy face on the release, but the fact is that it's several years too late. It was a good idea back when it was launched but, as Glyn writes, as a "very definite, but *abstract*, idea" it failed miserably.
Note to other open-source projects: "Abstract" worked for Picasso. It won't for you.
Perhaps the lesson in both Linspire and Chandler is just how hard it is to build a strong consumer-facing business. For those who pooh-pooh Microsoft's success as "mere marketing" I have a suggestion: You need to get into this "mere marketing" business. It has a way of driving adoption. It matters.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
- by Penguinisto August 11, 2008 9:09 AM PDT
- While I do agree that marketing does matter, there is also the opposite: Marketing without substance is what gave us such grand wonders as the DotBoom (with subsequent bust). It also gave us such awesome (*cough*) products as Windows ME, BOB, RealPlayer... and games like Daikatana, or schemes like PlaysForSure...
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- by kelmon August 11, 2008 9:48 AM PDT
- Vista had excellent marketing? I thought one of the primary reasons why Vista had not done as well as expected is because Microsoft couldn't market their way out of a paper bag and they failed to sell the need for Vista to existing users.
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- by catch23 August 11, 2008 10:34 AM PDT
- Vista has almost 2x the user base (in 1.5 years) then Apple has amassed in 20+ years... 180 million licenses sold. An uptake about that of XP.
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- by The_Decider August 12, 2008 1:21 AM PDT
- catch,
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(4 Comments)Seriously - an excellent product with poor marketing will still sell: See also Linux in general. A poor product with excellent marketing gives us, well... Vista.
The trick is to do both sides of the equation well, as I think you were trying to convey, but keep the emphasis on the product.
But you are indeed correct. There's no point having great marketing but no product (or, to put it another way, "sizzle without the steak"). But, equally, if you don't have great marketing then a great product won't sell if it is up against competition that is marketed well. Apple is making a lot of noise these days and Linux needs to make itself heard.
Not doing well? Every other company out there is begging to do 'not well' then.
Either you are totally ignorant, or you just like to ignore the fact that the 180 million number is not just Vista, XP is counted in that as well. Don't forget most of those licenses were forced via OEM.
Vista is a failure by any measure.