The Open Source Solution

Many software developers think that open source software is the best way to quickly create usable code.  While this may be a good idea in some specialized areas of the software world, it does not easily translate into other areas.  Open source development materialized in the dawn of computing when all users were developers.  Users were the intuitive choice for code contributers.  However, much of today's software is used by the computer-savvy developer as well as the computer-illiterate grandmother.  With most popular software, users are more likely to be of the non-developing persuasion.  We wouldn't want our grandparents to get stuck checking their email because they've encountered a bug; or our children to be confused when an educational game doesn't act the way we want it to.  Customers no longer are fellow developers.  Without the fascination and devotion of the public, open source development is becoming obsolete.

The Dawn of Computers

It is odd to think there used to be a world where people trusted others with their computers.  College campuses and science laboratories favored loose security and information accessibility over privacy.  Now computers are protected by passwords, firewalls, and virus detection software.  There is an assumed lack of trust.  It is no longer innocent until proven guilty.  How this change came about is no great mystery.  It is merely a matter of availability.

When Adam and Eve lived on the earth with their first few children there was no need for locks on doors.  They knew and trusted everyone who was capable of breaking in.  The same is true of the dawn of computers.  For a while everyone in the computer business was like a family.  They were all in awe of this new technology and worked together to discover new areas in the field.  The computer geeks all trusted each other with their computer security.

Now the world has grown.  There is more than just one family on earth so people lock their doors.  There is more than one nerdy, trusting group of computer users so people lock up their computers.  As computers become easier to use, they will become more widely hacked.  It's a simple matter of growth.  And the computer industry is nothing without growth.

Driving into Danger

We often see technological advances in movies that seem unrealistic.  A car that drives itself is an example of one of these seemingly implausible concepts that is common in speculation about the future.  But so much could go wrong with a car driving itself:  a bug in the software, or a situation that hasn't been accounted for.  It is hard to imagine people trusting their lives to a computer program every time they step out of the house.  Despite the possible deadly scenarios, the technology for software driven cars is looming in our immediate future. In 2007, the DARPA Urban Challenge held a contest for autonomous cars capable of navigating through traffic.  Eleven teams responded.  The technology exists.  Yet there are still two things stopping the autonomous car:  funding, and the trust of the American public.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/07/driving-blind-daytona-thanks-robotic-cars/