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Does Open-Source Have a Place in the Factory?

Posted July 25, 2008 8:13 AM

According to recent articles, "Open source software is making its way into the systems that touch our everyday lives, from banks to the stores where we shop." Open source software is playing a role in systems being researched for vehicle traffic management. The reasons? To minimize cost and development time by leveraging existing code. What about the factory floor? Does open source show promise there? Is your organization using it?

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april05 Power-User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Troy, NY Posts: 346 Good Answers: 3	#1 Re: Does Open-Source Have a Place in the Factory? 07/25/2008 5:09 PM
	Installed Linux for the first time on an engineering workstation back in '96-97 time-frame, at a plastics injection molder I worked for here in Upstate, NY. In 2001, I worked for a company that made a Linux-based, industrial-spec datalogger. Chemical OEMs (among others) were snapping this up, and we even had the friendly Penguin on our shinny brochures to promote our commitment to open-source. Global corporations in the energy field are now using Java, Apache and other open-source software for their database-driven web sites, to connect factory floors in Asia to their design offices in Europe and North America. It's been with us in the factory for a while, and keeps growing. -april05 __________________ Follow Larry Kelley --- on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Larry_Kelley --- and on CR4: http://cr4.globalspec.com/search/sitesearch?do=show&us=15248&srchobjs=t,be

Del the cat Guru Join Date: May 2007 Location: Harlow England Posts: 10336 Good Answers: 207	#2 Re: Does Open-Source Have a Place in the Factory? 07/25/2008 5:37 PM
	by leveraging existing code. WTF does that mean??? The English language has a more than adequate supply of apposite words without using nonsensical expressions. Anyhow open source code has to be at least as good as the crap from Microsnotf . Grumpy Del (I need to leverage some cat food pronto) __________________ health warning: These posts may contain traces of nut.

U V Guru Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tri cities, Washington state Republic of the 50 states of America Posts: 1910 Good Answers: 30	#3 In reply to #2 Re: Does Open-Source Have a Place in the Factory? 07/25/2008 11:31 PM
	Hey Del, I think (heere we go) that they are trying to say that they used Unix based software and it can be converted to run on Linux fairly easy. Of course they could have just said so. Brad __________________ (Larrabee's Law) Half of everything you hear in a classroom is crap. Education is figuring out which half is which.

caramba Guru Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Kazakhstan Posts: 751 Good Answers: 8	#4 Re: Does Open-Source Have a Place in the Factory? 08/23/2008 11:20 AM
	Open Source is not a monopoly of linux/unix. Though linux/based systems and software are mostly based on OSource. It means only that source of design [not only software] should be opened for anyone. Using proprietary based products for design is not a garantee of safety and quality itself.

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