Returns from social capital in open source software networks

Open Source Software projects base their operation on a collaborative structure for knowledge exchange in the form of provision or reception of information, expertise and feedback on the creation of source code. Here, we address the direction of these knowledge flows among projects throughout social networks and their impact on project success. We identify the roles of membership or contribution that individuals play within projects. We found that connections through contributors who bring their knowledge to the project, improve project success, and that connection through members, who transfer their knowledge towards other projects, enhance project success. Finally, we found that ties through shared membership and contributions hamper project success. The analysis of knowledge flows and their impact on project success imply a translation of returns from investment in social capital, where investment takes the shape of knowledge flows and the returns mean the projects’ diffusion over the network.

Ex ante identification of disruptive innovations in the software industry applied to web applications: The case of Microsoft's vs. Google's office applications

This paper analyzes the question whether web applications pose a disruptive threat to incumbents or a disruptive growth opportunity for entrants in the application software industry using a novel method for ex ante identification of disruptive innovations in the software industry. Building on the theory of disruptive innovations, network effects and existing frameworks for the ex ante identification of disruptive innovations a new method of analysis is deduced. The analysis is based on a list of criteria that indicate a disruptive innovation and trajectory maps of the technologies' performance attributes. This method is applied to study the potential disruption of Microsoft's desktop office applications by Google's web-based office applications.The chosen method of analysis indicates a small likelihood for web applications to pose a disruptive threat to Microsoft, and by extension, to incumbents in the software industry. While web applications show a potential to satisfy market demand in established performance attributes, strong network effects in existing software products should give incumbents enough time to co-opt the innovation. The case illustrates how our new method to analyze disruptive potential in the software industry ex ante can help to apply the theory of disruptive innovation better for forecasting purposes and to provide novel strategic insights for the players involved.     

Pragmatism, not ideology: Historical perspectives on IBM’s adoption of open-source software

We track IBM’s approach to software production and commercialization between 1950 and the present. We find that in the 1950s IBM followed what today would be called an open-source model – its software source code was open, free of charge, and written collaboratively with its users. By the mid 1980s, all of these attributes had been reversed – IBM’s software was closed source, sold or leased independently of hardware sales, and written without the collaboration of its users. More recently, the company has been in a state of transition, achieving a balance between free, open-source software and proprietary software that still generates 20% of its revenues. We interpret these radical swings in light of the substantial changes that have taken place since the 1950s in the costs and benefits of open source, bundled, and collaborative software vis-à-vis the alternatives.     

Competition and open source with perfect software compatibility

In this paper we study duopolistic competition between closed and open source software. Inspired by recent contributions on open source, we propose a two-stage game with perfect information and product differentiation, in which producers first set software quality and then determine prices (the price is zero for open source programs). We assume perfect software compatibility and model lock-in effects, a network externality component of software quality, and accumulation of experience in software use and implementation. In comparison to the monopolistic benchmark case, we argue that, in a duopoly created by the emergence of an open source program, the proprietary software producer will reduce its selling price if: (i) its network of users is larger than the open source network and its consumers are largely familiar with its program, (ii) it has a small network of unskilled consumers. On the other hand, the price of proprietary software will increase if its users form a large, but poorly-skilled network. Furthermore, we show that, in all of the above cases, the hedonic quality of proprietary software increases. Finally, by modeling experience accumulation processes through difference equations, we show that the ratio between the closed and open source programs’ opportunity costs for software learning and deployment plays a crucial role in shaping market outcomes. If open source software remains too complex and technical for unskilled or time-pressed users, a shared market solution, in which both programs are adopted, is likely to emerge. However, if opportunity costs in learning and understanding open source programs are particularly low, or at least equal to the opportunity costs of a closed-source program, then open source dominance emerges (i.e. markets tip to open source).     

改善民生：精兵简政，势在必行——兼论财政支出的合理性

政府的财政收入主要来自于税收,纳税人的钱只能有两种用处,一是维护国家机器的正常运转;二是改善民生。而且二者是此消彼长,即在财政收入一定的条件下,要想增加社会保障和社会福利,就必须减少行政事业费开支,而达到这一目的的唯一出路就是精兵简政。精兵简政不仅可以节省资金,用来解决民生问题,而且只有精兵简政才能提升军队的战斗力,只有精兵简政才能提高工作效率,只有精兵简政才能减少权力寻租,只有精兵简政才能实现高薪养廉,只有精兵简政才能降低税费收缴,从而有利于增加生产,扩大就业。     

软件无线电技术在军事上的应用评述

本文较为详细地概述了软件无线电技术在国外军事领域开展应用的情况,并列举了典型的系统和计划,阐明了软件无线电技术的未来发展前景。     

二滩水电站调速器的交叉冗余双微机调节器

介绍了二滩水电站调速器的总体结构,微机调节器的工作原理和应用效果。微机调节器由两套相互独立相互通讯的Quantum系列PLC控制,具有独立的供电电源系统、独立的信号采样(机组频率、导叶开度、有功功率等)通道和独立的输入输出通道。调速器实现双微机调节器及其输入输出通道的交叉冗余,并进行适应式变参数的转速调节和功率调节。着重描述了交叉冗余双微机调节器的容错控制和功率控制方法。     

无限冲击响应数字滤波器设计软件

<正> 经营机制必须转换企业活不活,关键在于企业经营机制好不好。当前,我国许多企业经济效益滑坡,主要就是因为旧的企业经营机制管理层次过多,人浮于事现象严重,市场应变力不强等因素造成。相反,从当前实际情况看,我国一些非国营企业,包括乡镇企业、“三资”企业、私营企业,因为其本身不但是自主经营、自负盈亏,而且生产经营活动基本上是由市场调节,同市场和市场经济在客观上已经结合在一起,特别在治理整顿期间,他们不但经受住经济紧缩的考验,而且通过自觉优化结构,提高技术质量档次,反而发展得更好了。究其原因,就是因为他们的企业经营机制已经基本解决了。由此可见,转换企业经营机制已经势在必行,早转晚转都要转,早转早主动,晚转要被动,不转要受穷。     

基于软件无线电的WCDMA仿真平台

本文介绍了一种关于3G的仿真平台的研究、开发和验证。结合软件无线电思想，参照3GPP协议，在COSSAP软件包中搭建起一个具有通用结构的、基于第三代WCDMA、FDD方式的下行链路物理层的仿真平台，并进行了Turbo编译码、RAKE接收机等3G关键技术的研究和单路数据业务、单路话音业务及多业务复用时系统性能的仿真验证。仿真结果与相关文献拟合得较好，结果证明可以把它作为进一步研究软件无线电中关键技术的基础平台。     

一种基于DSP+FPGA的控制系统方案设计

介绍了一种基于DSP FPGA技术的控制系统的设计方案，给出了系统硬件和软件的设计以及关键技术的实现。该方案具有控制结构简单、可靠性高、扩展性好等特点，具有一定的通用性。