Collaborative Software Initiative

I don't know bubba.... but why does every rural county run its own 911 system?

Why does every hospital have its own admissions system? Why the serious variance in quality? Why does each doctor's office have its own crappy looking low quality paper form for patient history? Even better, why would a doctor working with geriatrics have tiny, broken, print from a multiple generation photocopy?

There are days that it looks like the part of the country I live in is driven by a new democratic principle of "one building, one grant".

It's consolidation opportunity, baby!

The Collaborative Software Initiative looks to the pooled interests of "software consumers" to leverage quality and costs. The coopepetitors (my neologism, dammit...) gain the advantage of common code that's out of their strategic differentiation zone... like....

• would a school differentiate on the basis of its transcript generating system?
• how many patient history forms does a region need?
• what about the data manipulation underneath a sales-lead tracking system?

Ones' mileage may vary, but this new company, with focus upon open source software stacks (LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) looks to be getting to the headaches in the consuming business/government/educational communities. They've also secured alliances with IBM, HP, Intel, and Novell (for starters) and seem to be in the right market place to deliver great value.

Although humans look for patterns in data, (see the face in the clouds?) the Collaborative Software volk fit in with the other coolhunting I've been after:

• open source appliances such as the edgeBOX for all in one branch office solutions
• CUWiN's open source community networking using open source
• the compelling economics of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) and Open Source
• the already past but becomming more obvious effect of consumer gizmo volumes inverting the old early adopter TALC models.... but I need to wave hands on this topic at a future posting.

Wisdom of crowds.... boy howdy.

-30-

Minitel Redux: Putting The App Into Appliance With Easy Neuf

The International Herald Tribune covers an innovative Internet Appliance developed by Neuf Cigatel - the Easy Neuf. Little box with magic.

What I like about this:

• Linux Core
• Open Source Word Processing, Browser, and Spreadsheet
• €10 preminum for "the box" and "cheap" peripherals (keyboard, tube)

A long time ago.... I described the interaction of fast reliable open networks and "thin clients" as a 'nuthin but net model. Whilst mileage may vary, the use of stable open source appliances will drive adoption by consumers and small businesses who do not (can not) manage the deathly complexity of dueling operating systems. Don't even look at the machines blinking 12:00...

As an example of the business implementation, look at Critical-Link's edgeBOX product - again using Linux core with applications nougats (firewall, email, VoIP... plus partner-provided applications).

So.... do I smell an ASP milling about. How about running payroll and sales tracking along with supporting the must-do office applications "hands free" for the customer/consumer?

Meanwhile, thank you for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) as a brilliant design initiative to open the discussion and markets about what (ubiquity) verus how (Windows, Linux, et.al.).