On 09-Jul-2004 Chris Pickett wrote: } RickTaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: } > On 08-Jul-2004 Chris Pickett wrote: } } > } I've encountered / heard of very few shareware developers who actually } > } make a decent programmer's wages from their software. } > } > Do you always want to work for someone else? I think there needs to be } > room for both... just like in other businesses. } } Well, I guess there's the whole consulting option for free software } developers, i.e. develop features for a fee. There's nothing that stops That's not programming. I don't know if that matters to you. } the developer from keeping the changes private between him and the } client either, if the client is worried about competition. Personally, The GPL? } I want to work for somebody else, but in an environment where I feel } like it's working for myself, but serving the rest of society (e.g. } university, research institute, whatever). Working for customers and } clients just isn't what I want. I can see that. Art is a bit too "self expressive" to allow one to do that and be content with it. It's just too restrictive. For me anyway... } > You are probably right about the greater good... I'm a strong believer in } > choice though. } } I guess ultimately I have the opinion that since we have this amazing } free operating system, that's literally been the product of a } generation's work, it doesn't make sense to turn it into a wasteland. } We've already got Windows for that ... I'm thinking more along the lines of a open source system with shareware apps. I think the system itself would go down the tubes if you started getting internal competition, etc. } > } I don't mean to flame, rehash a tired ages-old conflict, or come across } > } as a raving Linux Fanatic (believe me, I do recognize that there are } > } > Don't worry about it... Say what you think. I {we} will live through it. } > It's much more frustrating when someone doesn't. } } Depends on who they are ;) No... I'd rather hear things straight from anyone... Otherwise things start to get snipish and stupid, folk say what they really mean offlist, etc... } > } Cheers, and let's not have a totally silly fight, } > } > I don't think we're having a fight at all. } } Well, I wanted to make a pre-emptive comment. I wasn't meaning to } presume ... it's just that I seem to have this knack for inciting people } to say really hostile things (although, I like to think it's not ALWAYS } me that has issues ...) :-P :} I'm pretty good at it myself. I don't think this is an appropriate place for it. It usually just makes eveyone involved look ridiculous anyway. ---------------------------------- E-Mail: RickTaylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: 09-Jul-2004 Time: 13:49:39 This message was sent by XFMail ----------------------------------