I can relate to the open office space fiasco. I have spend many years working in them. However, it isn't always an easy problem to solve for companies either,

I can relate to the open office space fiasco. I have spend many years working in them. However, it isn't always an easy problem to solve for companies either, office space can be quite expensive and to give every developer (let alone every person) a private office is in most scenarios just not going to be financially viable. Having said, it should be doable for most companies to have at least a "loud" and a "quiet" space, i.e. two open spaces in stead of one. This gives workers at least some choice in which environment they prefer to work and it should be feasible for most companies out there.