open-source application dev?

Interviewer: Are there areas where open source won't work? For example, vertical

             applications--a VAR specialty. After all, open source depends on a

             community of programmers working on a project. How much interest can

             there be for, say, insurance file claim software development?

             Raymond: I used to have beliefs about places where open source

             wouldn't work. They've consistently turned out to be false, so I don't make

             predictions like that any more.

Can open-source work for a small scale development project (using Oracle and digital mapping sw?) Let's suppose there is a small group of developers working on similar projects but in different parts of the world. They are interested to see a solution take shape and to contribute to it. What does it take to facilitate this sort of collaboration across the Web? Core group of programmers and their client (public sector) have absolutely no commercial interest. They just want an application that works. Comments? Received on Thu Apr 01 1999 - 22:48:06 CST