# Economics and Open Source

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2021-10-05
- Length: 1h 39m
- Episode: 17
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/046b64ad

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company discuss Joel Spolsky's 2002 'Strategy Letter V' and its implications for open source economics, contrasting Sun Microsystems' failure to monetize software with modern open-core models. The conversation covers the history of BASIC, the 'Cathedral and the Bazaar' debate, and Sun's strategic missteps, including poor execution, lack of customer centrism, and failure to embrace Linux and x86 scaling. They highlight how Sun's inability to connect its open software strategy to hardware sales led to its decline, while noting that open source tools have become the industry standard for development.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=0) Introduction: History of BASIC and Accessible Computing
- [13:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=818) Analysis of Joel Spolsky's Strategy Letter V
- [20:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=1201) Cathedral vs. Bazaar and Open Source Models
- [30:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=1829) Sun Microsystems' Strategy and Execution Failures
- [44:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=2684) Cross-Platform Software and GUI Challenges
- [1:05:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=3911) Sun's Go-to-Market and Customer Relations
- [1:13:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=4403) Open Core Models and Monetizing Open Source
- [1:22:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source#t=4921) Sun's Relationship with Linux and x86

## Topics

- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Joel Spolsky (other)
- Sun Microsystems (company)
- BASIC (other)
- Linux (other)
- Java (other)
- NGINX (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Open Hardware and Self Publishing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2010-09-28-open-hardware-and-self-publishing) (The Amp Hour)
- [Open Hardware and The Creative Economy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2010-08-31-open-hardware-and-the-creative-economy) (The Amp Hour)
- [Shonky Stiver Stultiloquence](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-08-09-shonky-stiver-stultiloquence) (The Amp Hour)
- [Don't Turn It On, Don't Take It Apart](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-05-13-dont-turn-it-on-dont-take-it-apart) (The Amp Hour)
- [Loopback](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-11-06-loopback) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2021-10-05-economics-and-open-source. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.