why open source works

binutils · Post by **binutils** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:01 am

http://www.linux.com/feature/118380

bontanu · Post by **bontanu** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:02 am

IF you are able to think for yourself and add up a few facts of life THEN that is a brilliant explanation why open source does not work ENDIF

inflater · Post by **inflater** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:07 am

Open source doesnt work my man, but software piracy does !!!

Just kidding of course

inflater

Pirogoeth · Post by **Pirogoeth** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:09 pm

Whether open source "works" or not is relative to how it's used. Open source projects need to be cohesive and introduce their products to the consumer market with the intention of making a profit. Think about this, what if Ubuntu decided to pull free installs and torrents from their site, and make Ubuntu available only as source or if paid for? The majority of users who don't have technical experience are gonna pay the $50 or whatever to buy the discs and everyone else will just have to compile it themselves. Any open source project that works will need - a marketing strategy to target consumers and businesses - cohesive project development - reliable software developers - integrated support service and personnel. The same strategies that keep M$ and Apple on top of the game, but open source offers greater security and reliability. The number of developers submitting bug fixes and fixing security issues will create better software. Open source projects could use this to create a network of trusted developers paid to fix and improve stability and usability.

Dex · Post by **Dex** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:21 pm

If people get something for nothing, they think it is because no one will pay for it, so Open source should charge for the disk or to down load it, but it should be free for schools and hospitals etc.
Than all the coders should be paid a share of the total money coming in.
Open souce is not working because coders are being riped off.

AndrewAPrice · Post by **AndrewAPrice** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:36 am

Dex wrote:If people get something for nothing, they think it is because no one will pay for it, so Open source should charge for the disk or to down load it, but it should be free for schools and hospitals etc.
Than all the coders should be paid a share of the total money coming in.
Open souce is not working because coders are being riped off.

They may not want to get paid? Imagine if you made something you're proud of, you are probably wanting to distribute it and show it off to as many people as possible, not charge for it. Even if you only charge 1 cent to download it, 99 out of 100 people would turn away because:
- They don't trust your site.
- They don't have an accepted bank card and don't want to mess around with pay-by-phone or anything.
- They're too lazy.
- They're against paying for software - especially that which they haven't used yet so they're not even sure if it works fine or if it's what they expected.

If your software is popular enough, you know someone is always going to crack it and publish it on a torrent or P2P network anyway.