[Ilugc] Is the proprietary camp winning ?
- From: goda.abishek@xxxxxxxxx (Ingeneur)
- Date: Mon Oct 16 11:25:57 2006
"Free Software is not about altruism but about self-preservation".
Your notion that companies need to _give_away_ software as charity is
wrong. When a company decides to contribute to the Free software
society it is doing it mainly on _business_ grounds.
Well, I am not convinced with this stmt.
Robert 'r0ml' Lefkowitz explains this beautifully in his talk
'Seismology of Open Source'[1] why OpenSource/Free Software is what it
is today. I suggest you give it a hear.
Sure, I ll get back on my views after I heard that.
Google is an excellent example of FOSS-based business. They spent
years developing their products behind closed doors using FOSS.
That is exactly the point. They will need FOSS developers, you still
cannot commit google search algorithm to my subversion, can you? You
work for Proprietory FOSS.
their needs on Free Software is so much that they _NEED_ to hire the
best Free Software developers available. Do you think people like Greg
Stein, Guido and Andrew Morton are hired by Google out of charity ?
They will not have to be. Google kinda rules a part of the market!
involved in any case. The Free Software community is not being
charitable towards Google nor is Google being charitable to the
free-software community. It's a symbiotic relationship.
I hate biology ;-)
1. Recognize that the Free Software community exists. (discovery)
2. Utilize Free Software as a replacement to proprietary software and
discover the merits if any exist (usage).
3. If the outcome from Step 2 is positive , then make sure that the
free software being used for it's needs is the best. (perfection)
Sounds like a vision statement. Realisable, agreed.
4. Contribute the changes made to the community on a case-by-case
basis (active contribution).
This is vision.
A FOSS based business never starts out thinking it is going to
actively contribute code back to the community. As it evolves and
reaches a strong position (while still using FOSS), contribution to
Free Software becomes an eventuality.
Let us hope it does.
--
Regards,
Abishek Goda
http://goda.abishek.googlepages.com
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