On Monday 03 January 2005 06:00 pm, you wrote:
You need to have a good understanding of computers to write "complex" software.
not true - there are a lot of ppl out there with minimal knowledge of computers writing pretty complex stuff - thats the power of FOSS, one doesnt need to be a qualified programmer to program application software
Programmers can collaborate with people from other professions and write software for them. It is a well established fact that FOSS does not work well in most niche areas unless some experts from that field write software for themselves or collaborate with programmers. examples include complex software for astronomy, medical imaging, software that controls particle accelators, biomechanics etc.
as things progress - programmers will become less relevant for application software in niche areas
Confusion yet again. Teaching and programming are two different things. You can be one and not the other easily and still be good at your job. Just as every hacker does not know how to write a research paper or give a seminar. But brilliant programmers and academicians are quite competent at both. This is again besides the point. This again brings me back to the focal point of your earlier post that suggests that you need to program to contribute to open source which is simply untrue.
what i am suggesting is that with the coming of FOSS - as far as application software is concerned specialised programmers will become more and more irrelevant - coding will slowly become an everyday activity for most computer literate ppl. and possibly guys who dont know how to code will not be able to hack it in most professions - i know this sounds radical, but there are signs that it is happening
kg