I love open source but..........

[nitish_mythology]

Hey,I am myself a biggest fan of open source philosophy.......
Someone asked me a question, I was confused!

Suppose if comp like Microsoft,Adobe,Symntec etc are replaced by Open Source softwares........
How wll thousands of programmer earn their piece of bread?

[max_demon]

that is why Pirate stuuff

[nitish_mythology]

hmmm...............no answers?

[Desi-Tek.com]

by making opensource stuff and providing paid support to enterprise users.
or by publishing google ad on application as previously done by opera.

even open source community like ubuntu charge money to provide enterprise support.

[jz2linkinpark]

Originally Posted by max_demon

that is why Pirate stuuff

how can pirating stuff help programmers earn their living?.......

[sanphoe]

open source will never rule the market such tht all the users from all over the world will start using linux.No this will never happen .yes open source will provide a serious challenge to paid s/w market such tht it might reduce the currnet 97% windows users to 67%-77% but the paid s/w industry will be there and still be a major player in the market.Because u see even linux doesn't totally come free! u have to pay some thousand bucks for enterprise edition be it red hat,suse or mandriva(ubuntu has it's own way).so u see...

[mediator]

By providing support+services, server maintainence etc!!!! Thats what I think!

[max_demon]

Originally Posted by jz2linkinpark

how can pirating stuff help programmers earn their living?.......

I mean if they reduce their price then we will rock:-P :-P

[JGuru]

@Nitish, Here is the answer to your question!!

Take for eg., KDE Project, the makers of K Desktop Environment.
It's Open Source. The programmers working on this KDE Project are sponsored
by Novell, Caldera, Trolltech, O'Reilly etc., These companies provide them the
money for them to survive!! So they can continue to do coding & make the best
software. Like that GNOME has it's own sponsors like Mandriva, etc., + from
the people who donate them money.

To learn more about KDE Project: click here

The Fedora Project is being sponsored by RedHat. Most of the software that's
created by the Fedora community is being used for RHEL. Remember RHEL is a
commercial, proprietary O.S. The other ways companies make money is providing
commercial support (like Ubuntu).

[nitish_mythology]

But do these programmer's who work for kde get their money equiv to tht of programmers in Microsoft??

Moreover charging for customer support wll gv job to jst few programmers...Open source wont b able to consume thousands of programmer produced everyday!

CDORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG?

By the way whts the profit of Novell, Caldera, Trolltech, O'Reilly in supporting these projects?

[blackpearl]

Originally Posted by nitish_mythology

By the way whts the profit of Novell, Caldera, Trolltech, O'Reilly in supporting these projects?

Probably, by selling the products to the enterprises. So they sponsor the projects and pay the developers.

Another question: What's the profit of the warez site? Why do they buy stuff from the pirates and then give them away free on their site? Also, how can a website earn by an increase in traffic to their site? From ads? But again why does some websites place ads on other websites? I mean who pays whom and why? The visitors don't pay to a website so why does the website pay some other website to place ads?

[mehulved]

Open Source != Free of cost.
So, why can't these companies earn the same after opening up the source?
Sun opened up the specs of it's T1000 and T2000 processors, if I remember the names right. That doesn't mean it sells them for free.

[nitish_mythology]

@tech_your_future
Here I m speaking of free+opensource softwares...

[JGuru]

@Nitish, Companies like Novell (that develops Suse Linux) make money by selling
their Linux distro, the proprietary one Suse Linux & other one SLED( Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop)
to the companies. Remember there is also Open Suse Linux, that comes without
any proprietary software like Window Media Codecs, MP3 players, DVD playback etc., & it's
completely free for download. Also the companies who buy & install these
Linux distros definitely need support, for which they have to pay money to Novell.

Why does Novell pay for KDE Project?

Novell's Suse Linux uses KDE & GNOME desktop in their Linux distros. It sells it
Linux distros to the Enterprise & other end users & makes money. It's actually
mutually beneficial for Novell as well as the KDE team in this regard!! Also for the
KDE Project to continue it's existence they need money!! Likewise other companies
& also sponsor the KDE Project , GNOME etc.,

[desertwind]

@nithish: Open Source or Free Software doesn't essentially mean that it is available for free. You must understand free as in free speech, not as in free ice-cream.

Back to your questions.

Open Source claiming the whole software industry (Though, it's a wild dream still), will mark the end of good days of Product-Based software companies, and will end up in a golden time for Project-based software companies or ITES companies. Programmers will earn by modifying the available source code according to customer needs and getting paid for it. Another major area that will be boomed, is of course as said earlier, Support Providers. Sponsorship is another way of making money, that is being done in a large scale.

Free/Open Source or Proprietary, programmers will never have to starve. But being open is always good for programmers and customers, and for industry too.

PS: Coming back to thinkdigit after a long time. seems that a lot have changed in the meantime.

[praka123]

I'' Just put my thought how a normal programmer can make money from free software.ie GPL ed software.first if he made the decision of open source the code,it should be publisized properly as it needs persons/companies to be attracted.eventhough others are accessable to the code,not all are programmers(like me! ) .there are wishlists to the already available program.the author can charge a premium for enhancements and other add-ons,compatiblities to other architecture,also for security updates,subscriptions to newer versions of OSS.So the point is without donations free code programmer can live by earning.Another Point is there are umpteen other possibilities also which a clever mind can make to earn from OSS.

I think small companies(a bunch of pals) are earning great these days by programming using LAMP for major public/private and international clients.

But There are many negatives also.for eg;if ur s/w is GPLed,somebody may fork it!that means your s/w is now have a competitor on the same area but it is highly unpredictable about the success of the fork.
but this is the same case with a propreitory softwares which will with time develop competitors albeit the difference is the codes are different unlike OSS.

But I believe that programmers who want to earn from Free Software are more interested in BSD Licences which necessarily means not to contribute back to the original.
please share your thoughts about this

[nitish_mythology]

hmm...so this means tht Enterprises wll pay around for product+customer support.
Common Users will get the soft for free....

@JGuru
We can install Window Media Codecs, MP3 players, DVD playback etc on Open Linux too(jst some downloading req.)If most of the users become freindly with Linux why wll they pay for such distros?

If a programmer code is opensource, how he gets credit?

Let us suppose,I made a soft for an institution(e.g. library management etc) ]
They pay me.I provide them the sourcre code.
Now....If they later want product support.They may even ask another programmer to code?
If an Another institution gets the code they might get it modified from an another programmer with a little fee,or use it as it is if it works and my right wll b violated!

Pls explain................

Conclusion:: I felt tht if Linux rules..........all soft would b free! But after this discussion it seems tht open source wont make any changes to cost of soft!

[mehulved]

If you release the code under GPL, you will have to be given credit for the program whether someone else modified it or not. If someone modifies the program, they have to provide that the original code belongs to you and they have added modifications to it.
And, then you can distribute the same software over the internet and many other people can use it too. Will it be free of cost or paid is upto you.
Of what I know, in open source model, software is seen as service rather than a product so you get paid for services you provide and not necessarily for the product.

[outlaw]

@ nitish
then the soft engineers will have to earn their bread by providing support for the users maybe they'll relase buggy softwares just for the sake of providing support [ i.e to earn more money]

[mehulved]

Isn't the whole IT industry anyways moving toward ITES ie. a service model?

[mak1012]

[QUOTE=JGuruthe companies who buy & install these
Linux distros definitely need support, for which they have to pay money to Novell.

QUOTE]


then wht is diffrent between open source and paid softwares coz in paid one we pay first and in open source we pay later.

[mehulved]

Originally Posted by mak1012

then wht is diffrent between open source and paid softwares coz in paid one we pay first and in open source we pay later.

Let me say again. Open Source does not mean free of cost. There's a lot more to open source then cost. Open Source has more to do with the freedom to view source code and modify it. GNU/Linux distros are released under GPL which gives various kinds of freedom. Read http://www.gnu.org/ and http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

[mak1012]

then its mean that open source is good only if we want to modify.

[mediator]

Originally Posted by mak1012

then its mean that open source is good only if we want to modify.

Not only that!

Suppose u r in a company that makes closed source software. Then only that company can debug that software as the source is closed. The customer can only send his/her feedbacks for improvements.

Now consider an open source software. The code is availabale to all. Therefore the code improvement is not restricted to some company or a person. People all across the globe can view the source and can make feedbacks and can themselves correct the code without depending on someone else to fix the bug. Also the bug can be fixed much earlier, in a few hours or instantly!! And a well tested code leads to better stability and reliability.

[JGuru]

@mak1012, The companies that install Linux definitely need support ( for configuring
printers, & other devices). Also the employees must be taught how to use the O.S
to get maximum advantage from it. You must understand one point. The Total Cost of Ownership(TCO)
for Linux is very very less compared to buying Windows O.S & installing them in
300 or more Computers. (Just an example). So the companies save lots of money
if they install Linux - both Server & workstations. The other point is the one @Mediator
mentioned. Microsoft's Windows is proprietary & 'Closed-Source'. If there are any
bugs are vulnerabilities, only M$ can fix it. Since they only have access to the Source code!!
Companies can't develop all software & sell them for free!!! Man, they have to survive
& pay their employees!!! They definitely need money to survive.

Just to give you an idea: -

A company can buy RHEL for around 12,000 Rs (not very sure, but comes something around that)
& install it on all their machines!!! If the company decides to buy Windows O.S, then they
have to pay for Window NT Server, & other workstations. Remember for each workstation, they must
buy a separate license & so on. In total a company installing Windows, will end-up paying in lakhs!!!( say around 3 or 4 lakhs!!!).
That depends on how many Servers & workstations they have!!!

[nitish_mythology]

@JGuru
We can install Window Media Codecs, MP3 players, DVD playback etc on Open Linux too(jst some downloading req.)If most of the users become freindly with Linux why wll they pay for such distros?

If a programmer code is opensource, how he gets credit?

Let us suppose,I made a soft for an institution(e.g. library management etc) ]
They pay me.I provide them the sourcre code.
Now....If they later want product support.They may even ask another programmer to code?
If an Another institution gets the code they might get it modified from an another programmer with a little fee,or use it as it is if it works and my right wll b violated!

Pls explain................

Hey Jguru pls explain this!!!!!!!!

[JGuru]

@Nitish, You must understand one thing very clearly. For eg., Suse Linux 10.1
commercial version is available in India for 4000/- Rs. It comes with a dual-layer DVD
(8.5 GB, ie., 2 DVDs) with all the multimedia Codecs that can play QuickTime, MPEG,
DVD, MP3, AAC etc.,
It also comes with support from Novell for 6 months. Believe me it comes with plenty
of software that are not available in the Open Suse Linux 10.1. It also comes
with 800 pages book on Suse Linux, that can help you understand Suse Linux better.
It's definitely worth it.

Why Open Source ?

The Open Source phenomenon hasn't quite caught on here (India) like in Europe.
Lot of companies sponsor Open Source projects. Also ,you work with a team (say
20 or more people). Develop a project & market it. You work for a noble cause,
for the society in general. Lot of people who can't buy expensive proprietary software
like Windows or Mac O.S. You also get paid by your sponsors!! Definitely your name
will appear in the list of developers who developed the application.