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>Heck pretty much the entirety of Linux and its ecosystem is remote. I'm a full 100% remote worker and I would never bring up "Linux development" as evidence f

by jasode 9y ago

>Heck pretty much the entirety of Linux and its ecosystem is remote. I'm a full 100% remote worker and I would never bring up "Linux development" as evidence for businesses to adopt remote work. If remote work evangelists want to argue for the benefits of work-from-home, please do not use Linux as an example because it undermines credible business thinking. As I've said before[1] and paste again here: Open source development as "obvious" proof of remote work superiority is often brought up but proponents don't realize they aren't the same. E.g. open source project like Linux kernel where volunteers choose what they want to work on, with little or zero effects on careers for missing deadlines has different dynamics than businesses. If we want to convince businesses to adopt remote work, the Linux kernel is not a relevant example. Businesses have: 1) finite budget 2) deadlines 3) pressure to innovate for marketplace acceptance or go bankrupt We need a better explanation for why business-related success of Google Pagerank/Bigtable, Apple iPhone, Facebook, etc comes more from teams in the office rather than remote workers on Skype. The Linux project -- even though it is "successful" -- is not that explanation. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15047805 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15047805

d0lph 9y ago
It does answer communication problems though right? Compared to any business project, the kernel is behemoth.
- jasode 9y ago
  >Compared to any business project, the kernel is behemoth. The Linux kernel's ~26 million lines-of-code[1] is much smaller than the proprietary code bases at Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. E.g. Google had 2 billion LOC in 2015.[2] MS Windows is ~50 million LOC. All those companies have faster commit velocities to their repos than the Linux project. [1] https://phoronix.com/misc/linux-2017/index.html https://phoronix.com/misc/linux-2017/index.html [2] https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/7/204032-why-google-stores-billions-of-lines-of-code-in-a-single-repository/fulltext https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/7/204032-why-google-stor...
ghaff 9y ago
>E.g. open source project like Linux kernel where volunteers choose what they want to work on The vast majority of Linux kernel contributors work for companies who pay them to work on the Linux kernel. Many of those developers do have some flexibility in what they spend their time on but it's not like they can do whatever they feel like.
- jasode 9y ago
  >The vast majority of Linux kernel contributors work for companies who pay them to work on the Linux kernel. Sorry for not being clear, the context was "building" a product. E.g. rewind the clock to 1991 when Linux Torvalds and volunteers and hobbyists are "working remotely" via USENET and exchanging emails. The Linux kernel they iterated on is an astounding achievement but that collaborative process is a totally different dynamic than a business that has to spend real money and get a product out.
raverbashing 9y ago
Developers in open source companies do have finite budgets, do have deadlines and have some pressure to innovate. And yes, they do often work for upstream projects as part of their jobs, pushing for changes they need for their deadlines. Most of open source work is done by companies. And yes, a lot of them with remote workers. Though I agree, I don't expect an iPhone to be made remotely though, hardware is complicated.
- jasode 9y ago
  >Developers in open source companies do have finite budgets, Yes, the employees of companies at Intel, RedHat, and IBM contributing to Linux work within a finite budget (paid salaries) but The Linux Kernel itself does not have a budget. If Intel/RH/IBM all stopped funding programmers to work on Linux, the Linux project would still continue with volunteers. It may continue at a slower pace but it would continue nonetheless. The point remains: Linux kernel remote workers cannot be used as a case study for businesses to adopt remote telecommuting.
sjg007 9y ago
I thought Jeff Dean built everything at Google.. :)

by jasode 9y ago

d0lph 9y ago

It does answer communication problems though right? Compared to any business project, the kernel is behemoth.

jasode 9y ago
>Compared to any business project, the kernel is behemoth. The Linux kernel's ~26 million lines-of-code[1] is much smaller than the proprietary code bases at Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. E.g. Google had 2 billion LOC in 2015.[2] MS Windows is ~50 million LOC. All those companies have faster commit velocities to their repos than the Linux project. [1] https://phoronix.com/misc/linux-2017/index.html https://phoronix.com/misc/linux-2017/index.html [2] https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/7/204032-why-google-stores-billions-of-lines-of-code-in-a-single-repository/fulltext https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2016/7/204032-why-google-stor...

ghaff 9y ago

>E.g. open source project like Linux kernel where volunteers choose what they want to work on The vast majority of Linux kernel contributors work for companies who pay them to work on the Linux kernel. Many of those developers do have some flexibility in what they spend their time on but it's not like they can do whatever they feel like.

jasode 9y ago
>The vast majority of Linux kernel contributors work for companies who pay them to work on the Linux kernel. Sorry for not being clear, the context was "building" a product. E.g. rewind the clock to 1991 when Linux Torvalds and volunteers and hobbyists are "working remotely" via USENET and exchanging emails. The Linux kernel they iterated on is an astounding achievement but that collaborative process is a totally different dynamic than a business that has to spend real money and get a product out.

raverbashing 9y ago

Developers in open source companies do have finite budgets, do have deadlines and have some pressure to innovate. And yes, they do often work for upstream projects as part of their jobs, pushing for changes they need for their deadlines. Most of open source work is done by companies. And yes, a lot of them with remote workers. Though I agree, I don't expect an iPhone to be made remotely though, hardware is complicated.

jasode 9y ago
>Developers in open source companies do have finite budgets, Yes, the employees of companies at Intel, RedHat, and IBM contributing to Linux work within a finite budget (paid salaries) but The Linux Kernel itself does not have a budget. If Intel/RH/IBM all stopped funding programmers to work on Linux, the Linux project would still continue with volunteers. It may continue at a slower pace but it would continue nonetheless. The point remains: Linux kernel remote workers cannot be used as a case study for businesses to adopt remote telecommuting.

sjg007 9y ago

I thought Jeff Dean built everything at Google.. :)