The Flicker Blog and Podcast

Now that he's gone public himself, I’m free to comment on how pleased I am for Ian Forrester, friend and ex-work colleague, who’s just accepted the Senior Producer role at backstage.bbc.co.uk.

I heard the news a couple of days ago, and I am certain that his knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to the UK Developer ’scene’ will quickly make an impact – and be hugely appreciated by the community of developers out there. Well done Ian!

Whilst listening to the presentation mentioned in my last post, a brief mention of the development of software for the new Airbus A380 plane caused me to wonder:
Whilst travelling on a plane, which scenario would make you feel most secure?
1. The software on the plane was developed entirely by the Open Source Community.
2. The software on the plane was developed by a private company.
Discuss…

My first thought – open source software ends up being safer and more secure because those who discover/experience flaws get to fix them. Obviously, a software failure on a plane has far more devastating consequences. That said, opening up the software to the community for scrutiny may be a very effective model for eliminating or discovering bugs.

Actually… pondering the importance of software on a plane is in itself, not terribly reassuring.