> Date:    Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:28:14 EDT
> From:    "Wayne R. Boyer" [log in to unmask]
.....
> Eventually when a lot of people get tired of
> writing software for free, things will change.
> In every market for every good or service, there
> needs to be a price where the producer can make
> a profit and the consumer can afford to purchase
> the product.  To date, I have yet to see a market
> for any good or service where in the producers
> succeed by giving away their product on a long
> term basis unless there is some twist to it that
> binds the customer to the producer for a future
> purchase.

A lot of people write open software are doing it for
money. They get salaries at the likes of IBM, Sun,
RedHat, SuSE etc. Others are independent consultants
who add features for clients who need them, but
charge for labor, not a product. Others may write
for free at the time but have a reasonable expectation
of making money consulting for companies that use
their work if their project is widely adopted.

Free software is translated into Spanish as "libre"
(liberty) not "gratis" (no money) because it is a
myth that so much work is getting done by people
with no thought to their own economic interest. It's
a service industry. I earn a salary, and if my
company resells my work as a product or a service
I'm ok either way. It's a different business model
but its still business. Both have their own advantages
and disadvantages, so neither will completely
replace the other. They will have to learn to coexist.

In most modern economies the service industry is
generating more revenue than manufacturing so this
change in software should not be that recondite.

Jerry Finn
[log in to unmask]
Madrid

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