On Fri, May 8, 2015 07:59, Timothy Murphy wrote: > Sorin Srbu wrote: >> Yeah, well, but it's free. >> I'm not sure you can complain too much in that case. 8-) > > I find this comment, often made, completely unacceptable. > The implication is that inferior code is OK > if the developer is not being paid. > > (Actually, the premise is probably nonsense, > as most Linux developers _are_ paid, even if formally > their pay is not specifically for Linux development. > But presumably the company that pays them believes that > it is of value to the company to have a Linux developer on board.) > > But is Linux code in fact inferior to code produced by Microsoft, say? > I don't think so. > And I don't think Linux developers are less keen to improve their > code. > Just the opposite. > >
The difference is that a large portion of the FOSS corpus, if not a preponderant majority, is ultimately dependent upon the interest of the people responsible for its existance and not the people using it. Once a project's core team either loses enthusiasm for something, or have otherwise moved on in life, their project oft-times is left without any meaningful support. If a project is backed/picked up by a corporation, say Redhat or Oracle, or a foundation, say Apache or LibreOffice, then it may have a future more or less independent of any single individual or group. Otherwise it does not. -- *** e-Mail is NOT a SECURE channel *** Do NOT transmit sensitive data via e-Mail James B. Byrne mailto:byrn...@harte-lyne.ca Harte & Lyne Limited http://www.harte-lyne.ca 9 Brockley Drive vox: +1 905 561 1241 Hamilton, Ontario fax: +1 905 561 0757 Canada L8E 3C3 _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos