Re: sustainable development

[Arne Babenhauserheide]

Am Samstag, 15. August 2009 02:34:58 schrieb steve paesani:
> I think the micorkernel is neat and may work on it
> however I would like to use a 'dev'comp' license that affords
> that the software's development costs be compensated through
> sales. 

Please have a look at the success of LimeWire: 
- http://limewire.org
- http://limewire.com

They sell a completely GPL licensed Gnutella p2p program, and they make really 
good money off it. 

The means they use is to provide a Pro version which offers improved 
performance by some changes which everyone could do himself in the sources. 

But because it is much more convenient to simply pay a small fee to get the 
changes that to do them or find a changed program (and be sure it's safe), 
people buy the Pro version.  

To duplicate that success you could, for example, regularly create tested 
snapshots and sell these (along with the corresponding sources).  

Also people might buy packaged disks and similar. 

Naturally others could then just resell your snapshots (but since your 
packaged parts are physical, they can't be copied easily), and include your 
work in the main distribution, but as long as you keep creating new and 
improved snapshots, you can become a reference source of specialized versions. 

You won't be able to create a self-running money machine, though. 

> I realize this goes against the idea of  free software

Then all I wrote above might be moot, because you think yourself, that your 
idea is one which I would call unethical. Please go and think of an ethical 
way to make money - or bug some BSD licensed project. 

Best wishes, 
Arne

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Unpolitisch sein
heißt politisch sein, 
ohne es zu merken. 
- Arne (http://draketo.de)
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