[BadVista Advocate] Free software community

[Don Hensley]

Here, this article may help you understand about "Free", in the way you are 
worried about it. 

I rather like it because it is not a GNU or FSF, or anything related article.

It's a part of a series done by Mike Masnick at Techdirt.

"Saying You Can't Compete With Free Is Saying You Can't Compete Period"

At http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070215/002923.shtml

Read it, and I'd also suggest the entire series.

Then see if you still think the same (you may, but at least this article will 
cause you to think a bit about economics).

Don.
********************************** 
 On Thursday 03 May 2007 03:11 pm, Russ Karlberg wrote:
"Unlike other groups of computer users, the free software community isn't
focused on technical achievement so much as building a community in which we
can share and improve software.  For us, the issue is an ethical not
technological issue.  Practical beneficial software is an important element,
but I believe that will come if we maintain a foundation of sharing and
social solidarity."

Ok, that makes sense.  I can see great benefit in this approach for certain
types of software.

"When we speak about free software we mean the freedoms to run, inspect,
share, and modify computer software at any time for any reason, not cost
(hence the phrase "think free speech not free beer").  "non-Free software"
refers to software that doesn't grant its users these freedoms."

Ah, ok, well that is the key point.  I like the term Open a lot better than
Free.  But there is still going to be a problem for software companies that
have to compete, and want to protect intellectual property.  And I still
think that only a tiny fraction of computer users would actually want, need
and have the ability to modify the software they use.

"I do consulting with free software distributing it for a fee and charging
clients for services related to running and improving free software.
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html gets into this topic more
deeply."

How would you feel if your clients gave away your work to other companies?
Don't you feel entitled to keep some rights to the work you did?  I did read
that article and I like the general philosophy, but some parts will be hard
to put into practice.

"Buying physical goods (cars, houses, food) is quite unlike software which
can be trivially replicated."

The replication is not the issue.  Complex software can take years and
millions of dollars to develop.  I want to see software companies continue
to make these investments so that we can see improvements every year.  For
example, MSFT invested billions in SQL Server, and it's become a powerhouse
database that is easy to use and can handle massive amounts of data.  Is
there a "free' alternative?  We've got to get some alternatives to MSFT,
they used to make big improvements each year, but lately they have become
complacent.

"Independence is critical; imagine independence applied to software"

I love that idea.  That's why I use a PC instead of a Mac, I have hundreds
of companies to buy my hardware and software from.

"With free software I can learn to fix things myself...  Richard Stallman
points out that we do these things all the time in cooking"

Heh, I can cook simple things, but nothing compared to what I can get at a
good restaurant.  I can't even imagine trying to modify my OS, media player,
drivers, etc.  I want to rely on the experts for that.  And sometimes I
can't figure out my own code from a year ago... forget trying to figure out
how 10,000 lines of complex code work...

"http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/microsoft.html has more to say on framing
Microsoft as just another proprietor, employing obstructive tactics other
proprietors employ as well.

Hmm, I really don't know what to say about that article.  It makes it sound
that companies are forcing proprietary software down people's throats.  But
generally people just want things that work, and they are willing to pay for
good products that work well.  And I still don't see how it's different from
proprietary hardware such as that sold by Intel and AMD.

"The free software movement isn't opposed to corporations per se, but I've
found that many within the movement are suspicious of corporate power (to
put it mildly) and for good reason.  The movie and book "The Corporation"
(http://www.thecorporation.com/) is enormously instructive on this ground,
not least for its advocacy on increasing democratic control over our
economy."

I need to see that movie/book.  Still, in a truly free society a corporation
can't force anyone to do anything.  They have no power.  Only governments
have that power.  In most countries today, some greedy corporations use
government connections to avoid fair competition.  But the solution is to
insure that nobody can get away with cheating.

"I imagine the free software movement dovetails with this concern quite
nicely as it too argues for democratic control over our computers which are
increasingly important in modern life."

I hope so, but it really depends on the philosophies of the people involved.
I'm afraid I don't like Richard Stallman's writing too much. He says:

   "Whether you give a copy to your friend affects you and your friend much
more than it affects me. I shouldn't have the power to tell you not to do
these things. No one should."

Huh?  If somebody invents something new, they have the right to it.
Individual rights are the foundation of a free society.  If you give away
software or music to your friends, eventually it will spread and then the
author will not make any more money.  Just because it's not a material good
doesn't mean it didn't take a lot of effort to create.

"I hope my post was helpful and that you'll be more interested in our
community.  It's great to have another person working with us."

Yes, I am learning a lot, and if you are typical of this community then I
would like to find some way to contribute.




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