What Business Can Learn from Open Source

August 2005 (This essay is derived from a talk at Oscon 2005.) Lately companies have been paying more attention to open source.

2005 年 8 月（本文摘自 Oscon 2005 的一次演讲。）最近，公司越来越关注开源。

Ten years ago there seemed a real danger Microsoft would extend its monopoly to servers.

十年前，微软似乎面临着将其垄断扩展到服务器领域的真正危险。

It seems safe to say now that open source has prevented that.

现在似乎可以肯定地说，开源已经阻止了这种情况的发生。

A recent survey found 52% of companies are replacing Windows servers with Linux servers.

最近的一项调查发现，52% 的公司正在用 Linux 服务器取代 Windows 服务器。

[ 1 ] More significant, I think, is which 52% they are.

[ 1 ] 我认为更重要的是他们是哪 52%。

At this point,

此时，

anyone proposing to run Windows on servers should be prepared to explain what they know about servers that Google, Yahoo, and Amazon don't.

任何提议在服务器上运行 Windows 的人都应该准备好解释他们对服务器的了解，而 Google、雅虎和亚马逊则不了解。

But the biggest thing business has to learn from open source is not about Linux or Firefox, but about the forces that produced them.

但企业从开源中学到的最重要的东西不是 Linux 或 Firefox，而是产生它们的力量。

Ultimately these will affect a lot more than what software you use.

最终，这些影响将不仅仅是您使用的软件。

We may be able to get a fix on these underlying forces by triangulating

我们也许可以通过三角测量来解决这些潜在的力量

from open source and blogging.

来自开源和博客。

As you've probably noticed, they have a lot in common.

您可能已经注意到，它们有很多共同点。

Like open source, blogging is something people do themselves, for free, because they enjoy it.

与开源一样，博客是人们自己做的事情，免费的，因为他们喜欢它。

Like open source hackers, bloggers compete with people working for money, and often win.

就像开源黑客一样，博客作者与为金钱工作的人竞争，并且常常获胜。

The method of ensuring quality is also the same: Darwinian.

保证质量的方法也是一样的：达尔文主义。

Companies ensure quality through rules to prevent employees from screwing up.

公司通过规则来确保质量，防止员工搞砸。

But

但是

you don't need that when the audience can communicate with one another.

当观众可以相互交流时，你就不需要这样做。

People just produce whatever they want; the good stuff spreads, and the bad gets ignored.

人们只是生产他们想要的东西；好的东西会传播，坏的东西会被忽视。

And in both cases, feedback from the audience improves the best work.

在这两种情况下，观众的反馈都会改进最好的作品。

Another thing blogging and open source have in common is the Web.

博客和开源的另一个共同点是网络。

People have always been willing to do great work for free, but before the Web it was harder to reach an audience

人们一直愿意免费创作伟大的作品，但在网络出现之前，接触受众变得更加困难

or collaborate on projects.

或在项目上进行合作。

Amateurs I think the most important of the new principles business has to learn is that people work a lot harder on stuff they like.

业余爱好者 我认为企业必须学习的最重要的新原则是人们在自己喜欢的事情上更加努力。

Well, that's news to no one.

好吧，这对任何人来说都不是什么新闻。

So how can I claim business has to learn it?

那么我怎么能声称企业必须学习它呢？

When I say business doesn't know this, I mean the structure of business doesn't reflect it.

当我说企业不知道这一点时，我的意思是企业的结构没有反映这一点。

Business still reflects an older model, exemplified by the French word for working: travailler .

商业仍然反映了一种较旧的模式，例如法语中的“工作”一词：travailler。

It has an English cousin, travail,

它有一个英国表亲，辛苦，