I have still not read but a MUST READ for all of us. ------------------QUOTE----------------------------------
A New Linux Business Model Although Open Source Unix like operating systems have become leaders in the world servers, and initiatives such as the W3C have delivered the de facto standards for the web, individual and corporate users continue to give out large sums for proprietary software. Corporations producing and selling proprietary operating systems and applications software are effectively tapping huge markets and making super profits, while the Open Source Community seems to be picking up crumbs, for the most part. Corporate members of the Open Source Community, with some notable exceptions such as IBM, are often struggling to break even or are funded by a combination of risk capital and grants; not a good basis for a business in the long run. Individual members of the community, the people who do most of the creative work, only occasionally receive financial rewards for their contributions. The Proprietary Software Community (we characterize them on this site as the Closed Predatory Community) is engaged in an undeclared war (well, if the Haloween documents are taken at face value, it must be seen as a declared war) on the Open Source Community. The diffuse and pluralistic latter may prove to be no competition to the organized aggressive actions undertaken by the former. On the following pages we have posted an inventory of problems and suggested possible solutions. We propose establishing an organization to represent the Open Source Community. Certain principles are, we believe, fundamental to such an organization. Control of the organization should devolve to the individual members of the Open Source Community; by which we mean natural persons. We do not on the grounds of any a priori principle exclude corporate members of the community from participating. We have suggested some mechanisms by which revenue streams can be established that return the the financial rewards to the members of our community. We have outlined an interim statute for the new organization which is posted here for comment. We do not claim to have the answers; we are asking questions. This is an invitation to interested parties to participate in the formulation of the objectives, structure, methods and forms of this new business model. -----------------------UNQUOTE------------------------------------------------ : : : http://www.amiculus.com Anand Shankar _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org/
