Linux kernel R&D worth over 1bn euros
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How much would it cost the European Union to cobble together the Linux kernel from scratch?
The development costs would reach over a billion euros (or about £900m, or $1.4bn USD), according to researchers from the University of Oviedo, Spain. Jesús García-García and Mª Isabel Alonso de Magdaleno are set to present this open source thought experiment at the European Union's Conference on Corporate R&D next month.
The pair calculated those intangible Linux kernel costs using the Constructive Cost Model 81 (COCOMO 81), an algorithmic model usually applied to estimate the cost of traditional software development projects. A base salary of 31,040 euros per year was punched in, based on the EC's Eurostat figures for 2006.
The results came to an estimated total value for the Linux kernel version 2.6.30 (released in December 2009) of 1,025,553,430 euros. About 985 developers would be needed over a span of just under 14 years, the researchers claim.
The research and development expenses need to build the Linux kernel in this alternative universe would have risen significantly over the last few years. The research claims that annual R&D expenses in 2005 (going from version 2.6.11 to 2.6.16) would be about 80m euros (~ £70m, $108m), whereas in 2008 (versions 2.6.25-2.6.30), the cost would have risen to about 228m euros (£200m, $308m). This is consistent with the growth of R&D expenses in the EU's IT sector, the researchers say.
Putting a traditional cost model on the Linux kernel doesn't quite make sense, as the researchers freely admit, but their model does help to illustrate the enormous value in the project.
The report concludes by saying that despite a lack of book value, commons-based innovation should receive a "higher level of official recognition that would set it as an alternative to decision-makers." A copy of the research can be found here. ®
COMMENTS
Go, Sean
Are the nasty people writing an operating system you don't understand? Are they starting to use it in games consoles? Never mind: there'll always be a place for Crayon-programmers like you.
"His hobbies include writing about himself in the third person..."
In the third person? Why? Because no one else will write about you?
Re : Huh? →
Some might be impressed by your stupid ( and offensive ) reasons but they seem unlikely to have affected the choice of GNU/Linux for the bulk of supercomputer systems, the bulk of internet servers, all those the embedded systems and the more intelligent desktop user.
I'm just a little puzzled that you seem so threatened by an OS that you both despise and yet clearly don't understand.
Stick with Windows - you clearly deserve it
If you're as good as you say you are ......
.......then contribute to Linux, and make it even better. We only have your word for it. Go on prove it, if you dare ;-).
If not, please write your own, in which case I will be only to happy to offer a demonstrably literate critique of your O/S, equal in quality to your own, using all the expletives you have bundled in ! As a point of principle, my comments *WILL* be negative to make a point to *YOU*, regardless of whether I like your O/S or not ;-).
I don't agree with you about the value of the Linux kernel. I think it is nothing short of a miracle that developers the world over have put this together and it is as wonderful as it is. Since the kernel is Open Source, and therefore free for all to use, with few restrictions, none of which are unreasonable, you could argue it has a 'value' of 0. **WRONG**. This just means it is given freely. What you fail to grasp is that this exercise has tried to demonstrate the value of the development effort that all the coders, testers, and coordinators have put in. I knew it was some huge sum, but had not really considered the magnitude. I think what it shows is just how much everyone who's contributed to the kernel and the software you can use on it has given to the world. THIS IS AN ENORMOUS GIFT ! And you criticise it ?
There are other benefits. That old PC that is not fast enough to run the latest Redmond offering can still be used with Linux elsewhere. This means old kit can be used for education in Third World countries for example. There is no O/S license fee to use the machine. And when the kids that have grown up with Linux become developers ? Rise of the Penguins ?
Your comment : "The whole *point* of a computer is that it is a near-infinitely flexible device. Why should end users forever be kept from getting the most from it?" - surely this does not add up ? In what way does Linux actively *STOP* you from doing what you want - other than user permissions, and hardware that has yet to be supported ? Neither of these are direct acts of user sabotage as the DRM brigade would have enforced. Some O/Ses include DRM features and the like to stop you from doing what you want. So again I disagree with you.
Like you I have seen some fine O/Ses and software come and go, and like you I have been saddened by their demise, especially when the stuff that comes along and becomes popular is far from what you want ! Here is something **I** **LIKE** and enjoy using. Thank you to everyone who has made GNU/LInux possible : kernel and surrounding software coders/testers.
Now be sensible and contribute to this effort. Help to make it better. Help to make it what you want. Everyone benefits. Far better than negativity towards such a wonderful free gift don't you think ?
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