On 14 Mar 2002 18:22:48 +1100 Darren King <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I don't know what you mean by rash, but I stand by what I say. You > cannot use a standard business model when your product is free. How > many people would use linux if it and all the apps had to be paid full > price for? Would you pay 500 bucks for the gimp even though it's as > good as Photoshop? I have been enlightened on Mandrake's commitment to > the community and I applaud them for it. I was wrong there but I stand > behind my point. Threatening to lay off worker unless we give them > money is a bit low. Obviously they overextended themselves. Like most > of us, they should wait till they actually have money until they buy > something. I just don't like the whole "we don't want to lay off > employees so we'll appeal to users" stance... > > Darren Darren, I think I see the problem, There are two kinds of Free .... Free as in speech and Free as in beer. (god how I hate that analogy) I'd recommend reading (it's available online but I dont' know the url.) "OPEN SOURCES Voices from the Open Source Revolution". In it the father, if you will, of Open Source Richard Stallman, gives an excellent explination of what he meant by free. Free Software means that the person who aquires it by legal means has the right do with it as he/she will. The source is open and can be modified, mucked around with, in any way the "owner" choses. But although the mods belong the the modifier the whole belongs to the creator. He also states that the creator has the right to do as he/she will with their creation. If you think you are paying for Gimp when you buy a Distro you are dead wrong. Your paying for all of the sweat and effort that the people at Mandrake are putting into making it easily and enjoyably usable. To say that they don't hav! e a right to make a living off of their abilities would be the same as saying that an auto worker doesn't have the right to make a living off of his/her work at the factory. What you say. How does this correlate? Simple, the car you drive and the software you chose to run are both open source. Don't believe me? Go to a library. There you can find all the information you need to build a car. From metalurgical studys to blueprints. Oh and that car. You can modify it, tweak it any way you chose. You couldn't build a car all by yourself you say..... well you couldn't build all the software that comes in a 7 disk set by yourself either. For one thing you won't live that long. Look around you with an investigative mind as apposed to a regurgitative one. M$ and other closed source software companies are the anomoly here. Not Open Source. Every other business in the world is open for inspection and correction (The business methods not the books). Yes they have patents! ...... go to the patent library and read them... they are open. In fact the best way to open source something is patent it. Which is why windwoze isn't patented. Patents don't stop clones.... ask the Japanese and the Koreans. They tend to be the number 1 and 2 users of the US patent library. To make money off of Open Source anything isn't a new idea, it's just one that got fscked up by the Patent/lawsuit feeding frenzy of the last 10 years or so. In fact Linux might not even exist if it wasn't for a heavily patented computer called the PC back in the early 80's. By reading those patents a number of companies got their start makeing work alikes that ran software meant for the PC. In fact back then it was a mark of excellence to be an IBM clone. I'll get off my soapbox now.... sorry. James > > On Thu, 2002-03-14 at 11:55, ed tharp wrote: > > On Wednesday 13 March 2002 14:30, you wrote: > > > Not all of us live in North America. In Australia, you do not tip. > > > Waitesses are paid a decent wage here. Just because a cable is at a > > > house for TV, doesn't mean it's "on"...I don't get the analogy. The > > > whole fun of linux is that it's made by people who want to do it, in > > > their spare time. Tell me, how much money does Mandrake send down to > > > the people who actually write software that they include in their > > > distro? And Im not talking about mandrake-specific softare. > > > > > > Darren > > > > > > perhaps this is information that you should check out and consider yourself > > before you make any further "rash" statements. what I tell you , you may well > > decide is false, but what you find out foryorself may well enlighten you. > > > > ---- > > > > > Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? > > Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com > > > >
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
