Misc. Ramblings

Many people have long held that one way to getting something done is to offer an economic incentive, such as a cash prize. Make the prize large enough, it is said, and enterprising individuals or organizations will find innovative ways to successfully solve many difficult problems.

For example, the DARPA Grand Challenge, in which an autonomous computer controlled vehicle successfully navigated a 130-mile desert course within 10 hours, points to what can be achieved in only two short years. Yes, the first year no one completed the course. But five were successful the next year.

Another example, albeit a much smaller one, is the effort to dual boot Windows XP on an Intel CPU-based Apple Mac. The site collected over $13,000 in donations to be given to the first person or persons who could:

1. Instructions must boot Windows XP (at least), not Vista or any other version of Windows.
2. Windows must be able to coexist with Mac OS X and each system may not interfere with the operation of the other (basically a traditional dual boot system where one OS is running at a time).
3. Your method, upon starting the computer, must offer the user to boot either OS X or Windows XP (hint: GRUB / LILO).

It was recently announced that the contest has been won and that details would be forthcoming. Assuming the solution is confirmed, this would be a great accomplishment because, it seems, both Apple and Microsoft have not been accommodating in making this (i.e., the dual booting) possible.

But what are the larger implications of solving this problem? It seems to me that many Windows users might be more comfortable in buying a Mac and trying OS X if they knew the could dual boot back into Windows. It could also make corporate buyers look at the Mac as an alternative. So, it seems to me, Apple is the net winner here.

Although these are just two examples of what is possible when you let everyone solve a problem, rather than funding a specific person or agency, I think it validates the premise that an open process can produce results (and do it relatively quickly).

Aloha!