Re: BDI install disk for EMC -evidence that a braindead install already exists

I am as much of a free software nut as anyone. I agree there are
major virtues in cooperation and open source code. However, how can I
work on free software full-time if I don't charge? I'm proposing a
business model that retains as many of the free software virtues as I
can figure out how to retain. Note that I am willing to sell a piece
of software for $4 that I could (legally and market-wise) sell for
$1000. But if you have a more fair proposal for career path, one that
you are personally willing to follow, I'd love to hear it.

The justification behind investing your tax money in NIST is that when
the technology is ripe, NIST will transfer it to commercial vendors.
And thus a product will be widely available where none existed before.
That's how NIST is supposed to work. If you want your donations to
*stay* a donation, release them under the GNU Public License (GPL),
NOT as public domain. That's what the GPL is for.

Vendors who act like Bill Gates are not the right answer. Customers
who expect vendors to live a life of poverty are not the right answer,
either. Somewhere in the middle is where vendors who provide good
value meet customers who shop smart. Let's find that middle ground.


A member of the League for Programming Freedom (LPF) http://lpf.ai.mit.edu
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Brian Bartholomew - bb@... - www.wv.com - Working Version, Cambridge, MA