March 26, 2003
Do you need to be smart for OSS?
"Wiki":http://users.skynet.be/rikvanbruggen/archive/2003_03_23_index.html#200047204 states OSS is only for the happy few. I don't think you have to be particularly smart to make use of OSS tools, as I'm the archetype of the enthusiast but clueless guy myself. Much of this has to do with enthusiasm and the desire to get there, and the willingness to share your travelogue with close or distant peers. Of course, many IT professionals might not see the benefit of learning new things or sharing knowledge (preferably doing both things at the same time) with their peers, as they are afraid this will endanger their position in the team. Clueless and naive as I am, I decided to forego this way of thinking a long time ago.
From personal experience, we as a company have been retroconverting _average_ (bah - hate the word) developers to make real benefits of OSS tools quite successfully in the past year. This also has more to do with enthusiasm and plain hard work, rather than with trying to outsmart competition.