Re: Open Source vs. Commercial Software

Kevin wrote:

>Um, wow. Talk about a total clue-vacuum. I'm speechless.
>http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=420290&seqNum=1
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When someone starts with Open/Free Software vs Commercial Software, it
isn't even worth exchanging dialog with them. It is clear from that
phrase alone they are completely and utterly "out of touch" with the
basic tenets of our community. Commerical software implies that
commerce is taking place, whether it be physical money exchanging hands
for the software or service or whether it be the software providing
opportunities for commerce. There are too many projects to list that
are free/open that generate income directly or who aid in the propulsion
of commerce through their use. The two are not mutually exclusive so
trying to compare them as such is idiocy at best.

I have long loved Robert Chassell's comment when someone bought a Free
Software Foundation CD for $250 and a bystander said, "I thought you
were the FREE software foundation!". Bob simply stated, "My friend,
freedom is expensive!". I had a long phone call with a friend on the
Ubuntu team the other day trying to work out a VAR distribution deal for
our company and found myself telling him that if our company wanted to
continue enjoying the benefits that free software like Ubuntu provides
our customers we needed to be willing to find a way to money in their
hands to continue their efforts.

Authors like that of this article, are so out of touch they are beyond
help. They equate software to things of physical production. If you
have a sandwich and I eat it, you are out a sandwich. If you have a
piece of software/music/video etc and I make a copy are you out your
software/music/video? This is just beyond the intellect of some
people. The article was a hoot to read though. :)


--
Derek Neighbors

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