Comments on: Slashdot: Is Open Source Software a Race To Zero? http://abstratt.com/blog/2008/11/23/open-source-software-a-race-to-zero/ A company obsessed with one single goal: stopping people from writing so much code Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:19:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: rafael.chaves http://abstratt.com/blog/2008/11/23/open-source-software-a-race-to-zero/#comment-581 rafael.chaves Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:31:48 +0000 http://abstratt.com/blog/?p=133#comment-581 Interestingly enough, I just learned about the CAOS blog by the 451 Group. This post is great: http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2008/10/13/open-source-is-not-a-business-model/ But there are many other interesting posts on that blog. Obligatory read for anyone in the business of software considering the open source venue. Interestingly enough, I just learned about the CAOS blog by the 451 Group. This post is great:

http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2008/10/13/open-source-is-not-a-business-model/

But there are many other interesting posts on that blog. Obligatory read for anyone in the business of software considering the open source venue.

]]> By: rafael.chaves http://abstratt.com/blog/2008/11/23/open-source-software-a-race-to-zero/#comment-578 rafael.chaves Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:01:23 +0000 http://abstratt.com/blog/?p=133#comment-578 You are right, Ed, BSD and Apache are more liberal licenses than the EPL. My (intended) point was that they do not impose restrictions on how extensions to an open-source core are to be licensed, so from that point of view they are all similarly permissive. You are right, Ed, BSD and Apache are more liberal licenses than the EPL. My (intended) point was that they do not impose restrictions on how extensions to an open-source core are to be licensed, so from that point of view they are all similarly permissive.

]]> By: Ed Merks http://abstratt.com/blog/2008/11/23/open-source-software-a-race-to-zero/#comment-577 Ed Merks Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:29:27 +0000 http://abstratt.com/blog/?p=133#comment-577 To include BSD and EPL in the same breath is a bit misleading. EPL has strong copyleft provisions that ensure that while people can use your software and can build cool things from it and around it, they cannot merely grab it and run away with it. It's really the middle ground between the completely viral nature of GPL and the "free love" of APL or BSD. Generally people won't pay a lot of money for something they can get for free. They'll pay a bit for the nice packaging, but that's it. Freetards are taking over the world, so generally those who are enamored with their high profit margins better be prepared to have them undermined by open source efforts. The only way to avoid having the wave of change wash over you is to be the one who's always on the leading edge of it. Expect last year's profitable software to become an open source commodity next year; plan hard for the next innovation to drive your profits or plan to provide less profitable services around the software commodity space. I liked an article I read the other week that said open source is free as in "free puppy". That puppy is going to need love, attention, and food not to mention expensive trips to the veterinarian. So while you can build a business around breeding puppies, there are great many other ways to profit from puppies. To include BSD and EPL in the same breath is a bit misleading. EPL has strong copyleft provisions that ensure that while people can use your software and can build cool things from it and around it, they cannot merely grab it and run away with it. It’s really the middle ground between the completely viral nature of GPL and the “free love” of APL or BSD.

Generally people won’t pay a lot of money for something they can get for free. They’ll pay a bit for the nice packaging, but that’s it. Freetards are taking over the world, so generally those who are enamored with their high profit margins better be prepared to have them undermined by open source efforts. The only way to avoid having the wave of change wash over you is to be the one who’s always on the leading edge of it. Expect last year’s profitable software to become an open source commodity next year; plan hard for the next innovation to drive your profits or plan to provide less profitable services around the software commodity space.

I liked an article I read the other week that said open source is free as in “free puppy”. That puppy is going to need love, attention, and food not to mention expensive trips to the veterinarian. So while you can build a business around breeding puppies, there are great many other ways to profit from puppies.

]]>