On 2003.07.09 09:43 Dustin Puryear wrote: > At 06:56 PM 7/8/2003 -0700, you wrote: > >I think Dustin is looking for data for a new write-up. > > None-the-less he is asking the question that all of > >the industry is asking. "Where do we go from here, > >and how do we get there?" > > While I think this is a good topic I do not write editorials or about > industry trends, so no, I won't be writing about this. It would be > interesting though. If you wanted to write up an analysis of the different > models and concerns discussed you could probably get it published on Linux > Gazette. I invite anyone interested to do so. >
OK, now I'm warmed up to the subject. Free software developers support themselves. They might do this by working directly for a company that wants an application, they might need the software to help with unrelated tasks or they might cut grass and develop for fun. People who are not in a stable financial situation can not commit to projects of any sort. The vast quantities of free software available shows that many people are being supported one way or another. None of us is going to join the NBA but some of us play basketball and public parks have courts anyway. Now turn the question around, does the closed source development model pay developers? A tiny minority of software developers actually work for software companies, the rest work for software users directly. An extreme case of this is a 30 year old VB programmer I know who has never earned a living, ever. The poor devil lives with his mom and still has dreams of selling his stuff as executables in a box. Making a living is a game everyone has to play and I'm not convinced that the free software developer model is at a disadvantage. They can always join the dark side later if they get an offer. Free software does a better job of making software. Dustin divided software into two groups, one that everyone wants and another that's specific to a single company or individual. GDB is an example of a program that everyone can use. It has more than sixty developers and the result is an excellent piece of software. Is there any commercial company that can devote those kinds or resources to a debugger? In the other case, of specific application, commercial software falls down again. The free software developer has better quality tools to work with, can combine pre-existing code without cost, and can co-operate with peers at other companies.
