Shorter hours in software

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Notice the loophole?

From the philosophy you linked:

Software hoarders try their damnedest to stop you from running a proprietary program without paying the standard price. If this price is high, that does make it hard for some users to use the program.

With free software, users don't have to pay the distribution fee in order to use the software. They can copy the program from a friend who has a copy, or with the help of a friend who has network access. Or several users can join together, split the price of one CD-ROM, then each in turn can install the software. A high CD-ROM price is not a major obstacle when the software is free.


Unless the software has a blocker saying individual copies cannot be run without paying a fee, one copy of a program is enough for the world. The real price of the software to all users but one is free, as in beer.

The "hoarder" is the poor soul trying to make money on the software.


And yes, RedHat has figured out a solution. That solution has made Sun call them a proprietary company, as if that were pejorative. Agree with Sun or disagree, RedHat knew their primary product had to be something not given away.

And yes, companies exploiting open source often pay people to work on it. Actually, I like that better than a largely volunteer system. The part I don't like is that without this strategy, a number of Unix workers and others would have remained employed.

To applaud Linux is to applaud lower salaries and unemployment. When it's seen as a ploy by some large companies to save costs, rather than morally commendable, I think it will lose its cachet.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 02/22/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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