Sun criticizes popular open-source license

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A little off

"so we rely on our development efforts and the results to create a package that people find worth paying for."

Excellent. But, you would have to do this whether or not open source alternatives existed.

"Open source tries to break down that perceived value that people see in a software product, and instead tries to further the idea that any efforts we put into development should be given away for free."

No, it doesn't. (See http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/selling.html)

"Essentially they say I should charge $0/hour for my development expertise."

No, it doesn't. (See reference above.)

"Commercial software is a solution to a problem. ... Open source breaks the one end of the equation and cheapens software in general."

How so? FS/OSS is also a solution to a problem. What if I write a program to solve a problem but don't want to go into the business of selling software? Should I never let anyone else use it because I might "damage" some software company's product sales? I wrote it, I can put it out there if I want. This is the reality of the marketplace and freedom of choice. Would you argue that I cannot help my neighbor fix his car because I might "take money" from the professional mechanic down the street?

"You will find the biggest open source zealots to be those that work as consultants, weekend hackers,...to open source breaks that kind of environment for the mom-and-pop type software houses."

So it is bad when someone opens their code but it is OK when someone helps maintain an environment where people MUST spend money for software? It's bad to help some the consumer save money but good to help the develper extract money from the consumer?

"My prediction is that while there will be some movement towards open source solutions, once the warm,..."

It is very true that many Open projects die of neglect or no interest. That's fine. Many proprietary project die for the same reason. The market decides.

"especially as projects become more and more complex over time. For those projects you would need a well-managed, less-cooks-in-the-kitchen approach, with good QA to make a well-developed project. Open source projects just can't provide that."

Huh? Have you heard of Linux? OpenOffice.org? GIMP? MySQL? KDE? GNOME? Are you saying that these projects are not complex and don't have good QA? They are complex enough and quality enough to worry you and Microsoft both! And, they are all Open Source. I think Open Source "just [can] povide that."

"On top of that, the whole notion that there is ANYTHING wrong/evil/bad with proprietary software is just laughable."

I tend to agree with you here. I believe in the freedom of the creator of a work to choose how, where and when that work will be distributed. Copyright gives the creator that right. I don't understand your appearent notion that Free Software is wrong/evil/bad. If I mow my neighbor's lawn so he doesn't have to pay a landscaper to do it, is that wrong/evil/bad? If I write a program and give it to the world, why is that wrong/evil/bad?

MS is a convicted monopolist and continues monopoly practices. Just try to buy a laptop computer without Windows pre-installed or try to get a refund of the cost for the OS that comes with the laptop to see what I mean. My dislike of MS is specifically for reason of such practices. However, if they were to play on a level playing field like the vast majority of software companies creating proprietary software, I would have no beef with them.

If you truely believe that the proprietary software development business model is superior to FS/OSS, you must also believe that the superiority will keep closed software inovative and valuable to the market. Go for it. FS/OSS will be happy to fill in the holes and keep you on your toes!

Posted by: alandd   Posted on: 04/05/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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