God, god, god! I’m really fed up with the whole opensource “movement”. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t like opensource, I’m just saying that there’s really nothing bad about closed source either.
For example, I use Firefox. As an end-user, I certainly don’t use it because its open source, I use it because it is a good product! I don’t care if it was open source or closed source — all I care about is that it is good, easy, and fun to use!
There are groups of people: developers, and end-users. Software is not made for developers, it is only made by them! Software is made for end-users, so the interest of the end-user should be the #1 priority, not the interest of developers.
When a developer says that he hates a certain piece of software simply because it is closed source, then this developer is only thinking about him/herself — since s/he is the one who will not be able to get the code. In the end, the opinion of the user is what matters and certainly not the developer’s.
That doesn’t mean we should not appreciate the developers out there; they have certainly done a good job — the proof is all the great software we are using today. But, when there is a company or a group who is dedicated to develop software, they don’t really need to provide services to non-related developers as well as the end users.
Besides, the computer world should be like the real world — not different! I’m bad at analogies, but here’s one:
Now, nobody hates Pepsi, Coca-Cola, or any other company for hiding their secret recipes from people to use. The source code is just like that, why should it be treated any different? If someone obtains the recipe for a certain product, it means they could replicate it and damage the company that wasted millions of dollars on research and development to create that recipe!
Why should a company pay for developers and researchers to create an amazing piece of software, then release it for everyone else to use for free? Doesn’t make much sense to me. What’s next? Pay people to see the code?
The problem is, people don’t even believe that a corporation has the right to make profit by selling software anymore! Seriously, people are now saying software shouldn’t be sold — what’s up with that? Heh, I wouldn’t mind getting a program for free, I know that, but I also wouldn’t mind getting a car for free, or a free massage for that manner! Why should programs be any different?
Everyone needs to make a living, every individual differently. Some sell milk, some sell cookies, some sell cars, some offer services such as schools, massages, banking, etc. Why should software be any different?
A programmer who’s good at developing good, solid, pieces of software should pursue this talent, and make a living for him/herself. Right? Well that’s what I thought.. but now people are suddenly against that as well.
So sure, you don’t need to “sell software” to make a living, some sites are ad powered, others are based on donations — great options, people — but that doesn’t make selling software a bad thing to begin with.
There are good corporations, and there are bad ones — their not bad because their corporations.. their not bad because they are trying to make a profit: its simply not the case. Some people just engage in foul practices to make money at any costs, other play it well and live by the rules and make everyone happy, yet, make profit. Example? That’s entirely up to you, some will say Apple, others might even say Microsoft.
To conclude, I will say it once more again: there’s nothing wrong with open source — I’m definitely not against it. There’s nothing with ’selling’ products for free too, I’m not against that either. But what bothers me is the notion that people have, that “free” or ‘open source’ is better, or even the only alternative. For those people I say, please think again.
