On Sun, 17 Jun 2001 16:04:51 -0400, jesus X <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
somehow managed to type:
>Like I said, I don't think everything needs to be that way. I know how hard it
>is to program good apps, and the skill it requires. If there was no way for a
>programmer to be reimbursed for his effort, the current IT explosion we have
>known over the past 20 years would not have happened, IMHO.
IYHO.
A demand for software exists. Even if all software were GPL'd, the market
would conspire for software to be created to satisfy the demand, it would
just be paid for indirectly. And frankly, it would be higher-quality due
to being open to public scrutiny, and open for anyone to improve.
There is always a way for programmers to be reimbursed. You'd just have
more expensive hardware to pay for consumer applications (and you'd be far
more likely to be buying an appliance, rather than a general purpose
computer), while server applications would end up in the "Apache
Foundation" model where server vendors and the users of the apps donate
programmers to make sure they run as well as they can.
You wouldn't see huge software-only megacorporations like Microsoft and
Oracle pumping out billionaires, but I'd be one to say that's a good
thing.
The only industry that would be wiped out if all software were GPL'd would
be the games industry, since games are mostly creative endeavours, instead
of incremental improvements on past products.
Charles Miller
