I wonder if these code improvements lead to overall usability. That seems to be the biggest stumbling block for open source, not stability.

They fade away.

The usefulness of such technology simply isn't there. So why bother with it? I guess it just sounds cool.

Within programmer month, a day is dedicated to developers for a certain language. Except, of course, Java developers.

I haven't actually dumped an open source application in favour of a proprietary alternative because it was difficult to install. I could, however, completely understand why some users after attempting to install and configure open source applications would make the move. The installation and initial configuration experience is the first impression and is important to get right. It is the first impression the software gives as to how good/usable/stable it really is. How can you get feedback regarding other aspects of the software if they can't get past step one?

I guess the next best thing would be a library that handles the thread pooling and figures out how to manage things.

Agreed. There is no need to feel shame for getting something functional out the door.

I concur in that there really shouldn't be a need for an external library outside of the browser in order to maintain a server connection.