That statement alone is enough to dismiss the entire article. Perhaps if you include every half-hearted attempt to throw code in the open as a "failed effort",

That statement alone is enough to dismiss the entire article. Perhaps if you include every half-hearted attempt to throw code in the open as a "failed effort", and ignore such half-hearted attempts for proprietary software (because they are hidden), then perhaps you could reach such a conclusion. But I doubt the author even bothered to look for any data; instead he just printed it because it made sense to him at the time. I guess that's also how he reached the conclusion that "it’s time to admit that this idea didn’t work out" despite the wild growth, unimaginable reach, ubiquitous use, and general acceptance of open source.