| Open Source: Where's the money? |
by Didactylos |
2003-08-23 07:33:37 |
The ESR thread below reminded me of one of the major unanswered (to me, at least) questions about open source. Where's the money?
As an (unemployed) software developer, I would really love to make a living writing open source software. But with the current attitude to open source, the only way I can do this is to be employed by one of the few companies that understand open source (IBM springs to mind) and then be assigned to an open source project.
To my mind, it seems wrong (very very wrong) that the people designing and developing open source software on their own time should get nothing (except for that warm feeling, and fuzzies don't keep a geek in gadgets) - and the money is raked in by other people who package the software and put it in pretty boxes, and by the people who service the software. I read ESR's list of ways to make money from open source, and there was no money for the developers! None!
Worse, I can't see any workable structure that would channel money in the direction of us poor developers.
So, is open source a pipe dream? Or can it make real financial sense - for developers? |
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[ Reply ] |
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Not unless you can live off PayPal donations. ;P (n/t) | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 07:41:47 |
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The way I see it | by myke | 2003-08-23 08:25:31 |
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Many issues, but there is some hope. | by skeegenin | 2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
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Deja vu. | by Khaar | 2003-08-23 08:29:03 |
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I must be channeling someone else then. | by skeegenin | 2003-08-23 08:33:17 |
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The software I work on is in house | by ToLazyToThink | 2003-08-23 08:34:33 |
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I can't understand why more companies, | by pecosdave | 2003-08-23 09:08:31 |
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OpenOffice... | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 09:13:51 |
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100's of reasons | by pecosdave | 2003-08-23 09:24:05 |
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"Only" 35 seconds? | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 09:38:38 |
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The money isn't in developing OSS | by SnappingTurtle | 2003-08-23 11:20:21 |
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If the money isn't in developing it, | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 11:33:33 |
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Read more carefully | by SnappingTurtle | 2003-08-23 12:29:24 |
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Now who's missing the point? | by Didactylos | 2003-08-23 14:13:05 |
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Oh, I understand the POINT of OSS | by Didactylos | 2003-08-23 12:03:32 |
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Besides, if you make it open source, | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 12:12:53 |
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Isn't that what I said? | by Didactylos | 2003-08-23 14:20:14 |
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It's a mistake. =) | by LionsPhil | 2003-08-23 15:15:02 |
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Try the view of the scientific community... | by Romandas | 2003-08-23 15:27:20 |
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Hmmmm | by Didactylos | 2003-08-23 20:05:57 |
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Why not look at working examples | by chrisfs59 | 2003-08-23 16:32:20 |
