Let me start with my specific problem. I want to let users of my PmWiki based web site (www.words2u.net) search a GPS coordinate database, and view the results on a map in a different window or tab. This involves generating queries to MySQL database from a PHP form, taking the resulting data set, and invoking dynamic calls to Google Maps server, using the Google Maps API. Obviously, this demands a good technical understanding of the Google Maps API, as well as PHP (and possibly Javascript or Ajax) programming.Since I am not a programmer, I posted at several Linux and Open Source Software (OSS) user groups for people interested in working on the project (no upfront pay, share in any future profits), and also checked with coders I know.
Of several hundred people I contacted, I got one possible contact. Folks wanted to use their language of choice (perl, java, ruby). Or they lost interest when they learned there is no pay upfront. People were busy at work, or would rather rewrite a puzzle solver for free. Why is that a big deal? Because it means that free OSS based web sites are, and will continue to be, driven by coders and techies. As a (non-IT) technical person I know that enginners' interests are frequently very different from those of their customers, and products they create are more often then not hard sells.
For programs and sites to be successful, input from sales, marketing and product development, is needed as well. This is why the most popular Linux distributions are from commercial outfits (Ubuntu, Fedora and OpenSuse are supported by Canonical, RedHat and Novelle, respectively). It is also the reason that while Microsoft sells and gives away tools that allow non-programmers to develop applications quickly and easily, Linux/BSD tools have higher learning curves and are harder to use (even if they are superior in many other ways). The same is true for databases, collaboration suites, and other applications, which are easy to use and well supported with manuals, books, and training programs.
Until OSS developers join people with end-user perspective, the penetration of OSS-based technologies will be limited, and commercial products will continue to rule the marketplace. I hope the day soon comes when OSS focus turns to creating tools for dummies, with documentation to match, so folks like me can create all they want without large cash outlays.
