In this thread and in others I hear three recurring themes, which apply to OpenACS and .LRN. We need:
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orderly and predictable releases;
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an improved installer;
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quality code base;
This is not exactly "differentiation" but it would go a long way if we were able quickly bring ourselves to the point where those who are trying to "sell/market" OpenACS/.LRN can legitimately and credibly claim:
"We have a product that you can install quickly, upgrade easily, and, by the way, is enterprise-class out-of-the-box."
By enterprise-class I mean a product that a) is usable in a mission critical production setting because of a high degree of code quality; b) scales from a small site (e.g. small NGO) to a large educational institution (e.g. Valencia with 20,000 - 40,000 users); c) integrates into the enterprise (e.g. external authentication).
What f$*(%#! product out there, with a feature set comparable to OpenACS/.LRN (commercial or open source), can make this claim?
I believe that we are 90% on the way, and we just need that extra 10% of effort to get there.
I will offer some thoughts soon on how we might be able to get there. But I think this should be the area of focus for the next 3 months and we should all work together and go after it ruthlessly.
