No, you were given an example that you asked for, and then changed the terms because you didn't want to admit you were wrong.


Yes, there are proprietary components to every bit of hardware. Tell me, do you have the complete source for your BIOS? How about the source for the firmware your CD reader uses to read CDs? Even in open source systems not everything is open. If the API is established and documented enough, it doesn't have to be open to be functional.

I note you didn't say anything about FireFox? An example of a very stable and reputable OpenSource system... Doesn't that qualify for your definition of a "finished product"? If not, then please tell me how it does while something like IE/Windows is different.

It was hardly kneejerk, and I did read the thread. In fact, I was debating if I should even chime in, since clearly you've set yourself up for failure here (with your "one example" bit), and will never admit that you were wrong.

As for the post from the OP, asking what has this open source brought us: Lots.

The internet would not be what it is today without OpenSource. Apache, Mosaic, Mozilla, FireFox, POP servers/clients. Everything the modern person perceives as "the web" is based on OpenSource programs. Even the now closed proprietary systems (like IIS, Exchange, and the like) are modeled around emulating the protocols and functionality started by OpenSource programs.

What has the linux phone/tablet market brought to us? Quite a bit, though it may not be completely obvious to you quite yet. It wasn't obvious in 1992 how a Finnish kid and a little group of friends working on a mini-Unix kernel would change anything either. Nor was it obvious in 1993 that Mosaic and Apache were about to change the face of the internet. This is just the start... But I can tell you as someone that's participated in such things in the past, you can never be sure which thing turns into a rocket and which sputters out.