On Tue, January 10, 2006 21:37, Simon Phipps wrote: > > On Jan 11, 2006, at 02:24, Steven Shelton wrote: > >> Simon Phipps wrote: >>> I was with you at the beginning of that, Don, but I'm surprised to >>> hear you saying "free R&D" given what you've written on LXer >>> recently. It's not free/gratis. It costs every one of us time, >>> many of us money as well. As the cost of the R & D is not bourne >>> by a single entity, you're right that it's pointless to try to >>> estimate a dollar value for it unless you also establish the >>> exchange rate. But it's not free/gratis. Each community member >>> invests according to their ability and goals, and they do so >>> because they expect to see a return on that investment on their >>> own terms and timescale. >> >> I think that what he was saying is that it's free to the company >> that takes advantage of it, not to the people who actually do the R&D. > > While there are contexts in which it's perhaps reasonable to say > that, *in the context Don is discussing* I'd assert that's missing > the point. That only works if you think you're an island[1]. Each of > us has to put in effort, and each of us will yield a return. Saying > that compared to Microsoft's $50bn investment all of F/OSS is free > both perpetuates the abuse of the word "free" and perpetuates the > idea that open source is about freeloading. > > It only matters in Don's original context though. Not worth an > argument :-) > > > S. > > [1] http://polyticks.com/home/Visions/NoManIsl.htm
My point was that companies may not be paying for the R&D. Still, your point is well taken, and is part of my point. Don -- DC Parris http://matheteuo.org/ http://chaddb.sourceforge.net/ "Hey man, whatever pickles your file!" --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
