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> Of course, if your business is selling operating systems, development tools, databases and other infrastructure stuff, then, yup, open source has eaten your business.

It seems like the rule is that open source is eating all-except-niche software.

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So you’re saying everything except “operating systems, development tools, databases and other infrastructure stuff” is “niche software”? I’m not following, e.g., that would make Google and Facebook niche software?

They are extremely niche in a sense. There are very few other search engines (all much smaller), and there's no another Facebook.

The market just naturally gravitates to the biggest player.

What's the definition of niche being used here? I'd define it as software that's only relevant to a small percentage of the population (i.e., that obviously wouldn't include Facebook and Google).

"extremely focused?"

It does include Facebook and Google, because Facebook and Google do not make up a large proportion of the population.

It forces you to make products instead of tools. Putting tools behind a paywall is wack.

Most software can be classified as a tool, except e.g. games.

I think he means tools for making software not business tools

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