2002/09/03

Ray Ozzie replies.

Another nail in the frequently-nailed coffin of Napster.  Here's something I don't understand. Ignore the Napster legal history for a moment. Let's talk about software development. About two years ago, Napster and Bertlesmann announced that they would deliver a version of Napster that would charge money and only provide music legally. Now, it seems like they ran out of money before they could even deliver that. What I don't understand, exactly, is why they couldn't build this thing that sells Bertlesmann music with two whole years of work and a whole team of developers? When Fanning had built the original thing in three months? (Then again, the story here sounds incredibly familiar. One guy builds version 1 in a few months and then a team of 15 can't build version 2 for years and years. Tell me you haven't seen that movie before.)

Oh, and by the way: My company, Fog Creek Software, has paid internships in software development for qualified college students. They're in New York City. Free housing, lunch, and more. And you get to work on real, shipping software with the smartest developers in the business.

About the Author: I’m your host, Joel Spolsky, a software developer in New York City. Since 2000, I've been writing about software development, management, business, and the Internet on this site. For my day job, I run Fog Creek Software, makers of FogBugz—the smart bug tracking software with the stupid name, and Fog Creek Copilot—the easiest way to provide remote tech support over the Internet, with nothing to install or configure.

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