Mozilla Chairman Mitch Kapor Speaks Out

The Role Of Open Source And Microsoft

Kapor is one of the founding lights of the modern PC software industry. He was at the helm at the beginning of the Lotus Development Corp. He was responsible for many seminal software projects, including 1-2-3, Agenda and Notes.

Today, Kapor runs the Open Software Applications foundation, which is building a new product called Chandler that will focus on using open source methods for personal information management. He took time out from his schedule to exchange some pointed emails with us about where he has been, what it has been like competing with Microsoft and where open source software is going.

Q: I think our audience would love to hear what your views on when you use open source versus when you develop with commercial software.

A: Let's distinguish between products you use and projects you undertake.  For the former, it feels too purist to say "I will only use open source." Sometimes the best tool for the job happens to be proprietary. At the same time, being thoughtful about trying to assemble a working set of open source tools seems totally reasonable. Linux-based desktops, for instance, require a fair amount of upkeep. Is it worth it? And compared to what? These days, so does a Windows desktop, with all of the virus and spyware problems. Personally, I use a Mac as I don't want to be my own system administrator.  On the other hand, if you are already a sysadmin, the incremental effort to do it for yourself is a lot less.

In creating a new project, I think you have to look at your goals. If it is possible to create an open source solution, then good, but I don't think you can assume that it's always going to be possible. If you're trying to build a business around the project, then you have think through how you expect to get revenue. Sometimes a consulting and service model will work on top of an open source code base, but not always.