Some of you seem to have forgotten that most of the advances in the world of computing have been made in an open fashion. In fact, the idea of making things proprietary only really surfaced in the 1970s. In many ways, I would argue that this has done a lot of harm. It has led to uncompetitive monopolies by the likes of IBM and Microsoft. It has also led to the fragmentation of UNIX. Had the Internet not been based on fully open standards (TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, etc.), it probably wouldn't be much more popular than Compuserve is now.
The idea of open source is not any different from how scientific research has been conducted for hundreds of years. Somebody discovers something and publishes it. Others then read it and build upon that work. There are few restrictions on who is able to use those ideas, so many people give it a shot. The end result is often rapid development. Nowadays, scientific research has been severely harmed due to the overzealous awarding of patents. The US Patent Office now allows patents on specific genes and even on the human genome as a whole. I believe that people should be rewarded for their hard work, but not when it impinges upon the rights and freedoms of others. On Thu, 27 Dec 2001 11:33:06 -0400, Gonzalo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't know where the open source market is predicated on, > but the global concept behind it brought a fresh and cleaner way of doing > things not seen too much often since times of consumism, propietary > and ownership take over us a few centuries ago ruling our lifes. > Yes , it's beatufull but lets just dare to think it's MORE than theory > > > From: David Reynolds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > It seems to me the entire 'open source' software market is predicated on the > > free-time meanderings of people who already make enough money doing whatever > > it is they do in their chosen field, be it SysOp, Flipping burgers, or > > working in a Steel Mill. That amount of 'leisure time' is only possible when > > you already have the income to allow you that freedom. Saying that the world > > can function without a source of income is not going to serve you in the > > long run, although the anti-establishment angst right now is fueling plenty > > of coders to try to change things. > > > > Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful THEORY. I just don't think its > > sustainable in the long term. The last two decades of computer programming > > have really been halcyon days, comparatively speaking. -- Sridhar Dhanapalan Your mouse has moved. Windows must be rebooted to acknowledge this change.
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