[ILUG] The I.S.A in the Irish Times

[David Golden]

On Friday 18 March 2005 13:40, Daniel Goldsmith wrote:

> also noted that Open Source software - which is developed by
> large communities of programmers and distributed for free or at low
> cost - is also going to have an effect on the software market"
> [...]
> "He believes the open source movement is actually stifling
> innovation, because fewer programmers will develop software without
> the financial incentive of success"
>

Uh... except the whole being paid to _write_ the software thing...

I think the problem is microsoft is really a middleman, just like the 
record industry.  People who can write _new_ software, or _new_ music
are still doing fine, even if they're only paid on commission once for 
each new piece. 

Those who profit hugely from distributing and selling copies of the same 
thing over and over again are screwed.