This is pretty close to the mark. As far as I can tell, after the Bell System got broken up in 1982, the government turned a lot of their IP into IEEE/FIPS/ISO/ANSI standards (e.g. X3J11, POSIX.1) and then made compliance mandatory. So businesses sprung up to provide compliant solutions, not for love of the technology but to cash in on the gravy train. Great example is the Windows POSIX subsystem where you can really tell that the intent of the folks who built it was basically just to check off a box.
Re:Free Software Is More Reliable (2011)
by smaudet on Wednesday October 21, 2020 @10:13AM
(#24848056)
Hmm.
You could say there is a self selection bias with millionaires having pricey stuff too... but that sounds like another reason it is reliable - i.e. its typically made for users who know their stuff versus made by the users who barely have an inkling...like getting your car designed by a mechanic versus getting it designed by a 5 year old who thinks big engines and tail pipes look cool...
Often those in management tend to have a relatively infantile understanding of software and design, let alone the understanding of their problem domain...
Commercial software is often used by unwilling users. These users aren't interested in the software, and are often not well versed in IT or have an uncontrollable environment they cannot tinker with. Therefore, any failure caused by their circumstances are attributed to the failure of the commercial software.
Therefore, FOSS software may seem more reliable because the people using it has more competency in using it, has more control over their environment and may even be willing to elbow-grease a DIY fix/hack.