--- Steve Richfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Matt, et al, > > On 4/18/08, Matt Mahoney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > For this reason, I'm tempted to opensource my stuff, but where would > > > be my compensation? Do I really HAVE to sacrifice my pay check...?? > > > > Not at all. I released most of my data compression software under > > GPL. If a > > company wants to use it in a commercial product or wants something > > customized, > > they have to pay me. Meanwhile a lot of people have improved the software > > for > > free until it moved to the top of the rankings where it got the attention > > of companies that need data compression experts and pay well. This would > > never have happened if I had kept the code proprietary. > > > Translation: We all (me included) now accept as reasonable that in order to > briefly earn a living wage, that we must develop radically new and useful > technology and then just give it away.
I think it is a reasonable approach for software. To build reliable software you need lots of testers, and you won't get that unless you give it away. Good software takes years to develop. In the case of data compression, there were already lots of free programs, so it did not make sense to make a commercial product. I know of several, and they either went out of business in spite of good technology (WinRK, Compressia), or they played only minor roles (Squeez, WinAce, Stuffit, etc). All of the widely used formats like zip, bzip2, and gzip are free. I can give other examples. We would not have the Web and HTML if Mosaic and the NCSA servers weren't given away free in 1993. Torvolds also made a lot of money after he gave away Linux. Of course you can point out that Bill Gates is richer, but Microsoft also gives away a lot of its software. They gave away Internet Explorer, killing Netscape and gaining important leverage in setting some internet standards. Where you make your money is in allowing other companies to use your product, not in direct sales. People don't buy Windows. They buy computers with Windows already installed. Computer companies buy Windows because it increases their sales. Look at all the software you can get for free today and ask yourself how the developers can possibly make a living. If you have a good idea and give it away, you will make money if you are patient. If you don't, it's nobody else's fault. It's because people figured out your idea wasn't as good as you thought it was. -- Matt Mahoney, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=101455710-f059c4 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
