> Unfortunately, this means that there are insufficient incentives to produce > software voluntarily--the public gets _lots_ more benefit out of my software > package than I'd ever be able to charge for it.
That is generally the case with most things that are really good. It is very difficult to get out of them what they are truly worth. I suppose the root is, as Josh pointed out, in the corruption of human nature projected in the economy governed by the laws of supply and demand.
I must admit whenever the issue of software purchases comes up in our company, I usually make a strong argument against it. This is not because I am particular loyal to the Free Software religion, but rather because I have a fairly good idea of how most of the commercial software is produced. I only give my word of support to the purchase after I see some evidence that the code was produced in a stress-free, greed-free, hype-free quality-minded environment. Availability of the source is perhaps the most powerful element in convincing me to support the purchase.
I believe the ideal situation would be to have a program that selects elite developers and supports them while they work on some open source project of their choice. They should have no pressure, no deadlines, no stress. However, the people selected for the program must be naturally self-motivated, demonstrate a measure of talent, and overall enjoy being helpful. This will work like planting a seed - if you plant the right seed in the right soil you will have a harvest.
The problem with the above plan is that it does not look like it will generate any profit for the investor unless it is the government. Or maybe there is some other way to make it work?
-- Sasha Pachev Create online surveys at http://www.surveyz.com/
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