On Wed, 2002-03-20 at 09:58, Giovanni Biscuolo wrote:
Il mer, 2002-03-20 alle 01:56, Rui Miguel Silva Seabra ha scritto:
His doubpts are if it is fair to have so much work, and then some smart ass company makes a lot of money and not pay the developer for anything...
Hey, hey, please: don't be offensive.
lol, a company that qualifies as 'smart ass' probably deserves it. Microsoft would be one (as you noticed). Anyway, this wasn't being offensive. It is a common term for "smartness with lesser than good intentions".
It is definitely fair as far as the developer is free to reuse other's free sofware code ;-)
At the end of the story, succesfull companies will be those who sell their competence, not program licenses. If you are not competent in (at least) using and supporting a free sofware application, your customer will turn to your competitors.
If there is free competition yes. When there isn't you actually hold hostage costumers untill they realize they are being victims.
On the other hand, succesful developers are those who use their competence: you cannot just shake a bounch of free software code and obtain "The Perfect Application" for a particular need. Also, the world is full of developers who doesn't consider money "the matter", there are a lot of *other* motivations to develop (and in general to do other things in life like Xavi Drudis Ferran excellently pointed out in this thread)
Of course, we all know that, we all agree on that. Great. That's beside the point however, since he doesn't. :)
Last but not least, it should be definitely good if conscious companies and individuals helps free software development the way they can afford: by founding[1], developing[2], advocating[3] and so on; so that free sofwware developers can... breathe.
It's always hard to start a market!
that's where he considers it unfair -- I couldn't demove him from that point of view :(
Lets try first to convince him that seldom developers earns money by selling software licensens; indeed, "The Lords of Money" (would you call them smart ass companies???) makes a lot of money and don't pay the developers the same way they get paid. Also, seldom developers becomes "Lords of Money" ;-)
Remember, I didn't say it explicitly, but it's quite obvious that this is a software house, of some sort. You must think like him to understand that: If we had made nessus [as GPL'ed software], other comeptitors would be able to make a lot of money without paying us.
In this way of thinking, how can you argue properly?
Well I have to go. tata.
Hugs, rui