100% and 80% solutions - Olin Shivers (ccs.neu.edu)

Olin Shivers, my most bookmarked and least read writer.

Problematically for those seeking 100% (which I tend to do because 100% perfect solution is like geek-heroine), the 80% products hit the market first and tend to make more money. :(

I like Apple's method: the 10 to 3 to 1 design winnowing/crossfertilization seems to end up with great products. (If only they'd done that with iTunes).

Porting that method to open source is a little problematical. You need a great curator/BDFL.