Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Golden Eagle

You haven't even cracked the GNU manifesto, have you? You don't know that the out-of-U.S. Asian market for OSS is huge, while Microsoft is in a stall there because people prefer that flexibility that OSS brings and can't afford the rigid Microsoft structure. You can't even seem to conceptualize the notion that programmers could profit from customizing open source programs, which is why the OSS movement has done so well in economies where personal service ability is the only intellectual property that is defended at all.

Worse, you elevate the 2 richest men in the world over the idea that their elevation should be part of the upward march of humanity; what has kept them growing ever richer is a lock on a product that should have been open to the public long ago, both in my view and that of the founders, so that the public could take it, use it, and improve upon it. Inventors are allowed to take a profit, but the purpose of patent law is that eventually humanity should be able to profit by their works, too. If Eli Whitney had nothing but apologists like you around way back when, the cotton gin would still be proprietary and we'd be begging for sackcloth.

As to your 'example' of Apache as something awful, gee, I guess nobody makes any money off Apache. That's terrible. Oh, wait, THOUSANDS of people do. They're called webmasters. People can choose the one that is right for their web site. That to me is a free market. Evidently you define any system which produces the world's two richest men as a free market. I'm not sure which is the better definition but I bet more people would agree with me than you.

And here's a question for you, since you fail to grasp the notion of capitalism generally: what is so wrong with people working voluntarily on a project and giving the fruits of their labors away, even in a society where generally that isn't the standard practice? Guess we should ban Habitat for Humanity next, or just outlaw volunteerism. In that case, you'd better look out, since you've given us all your opinion for nothing.


221 posted on 02/26/2006 3:07:53 PM PST by LibertarianInExile (Freedom isn't free--no, there's a hefty f'in fee--and if you don't throw in your buck-o-5, who will?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 217 | View Replies ]


To: LibertarianInExile

Wait. Now you're referring to their actually existing and titled "manifesto" to deny these guys are communists? Hysterical! Exactly why I come to these threads, if you told others people like this existed they wouldn't believe it.

The rest of your post seems to be a rant against inventors of all kinds who don't give their inventions away "for the good of humanity". So just as I figured, free software isn't where you guys stop begging for free goods, it's obviously only the beginning.

So where is it you are supposedly "in exile", right here in the US? Must be, since your philosophies seem to be completely contrary to the American Dream.


222 posted on 02/26/2006 3:33:21 PM PST by Golden Eagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 221 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson