Comments on: Open Source Race to Zero May Destroy Software Industry http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/ Patents, Software Patents, Patent Applications & Patent Law Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:58:49 +0000 hourly 1 By: kch http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-24014 kch Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:56:24 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-24014 Your economic analysis is complete fail. Sorry that this hits close to home and bothers you, but you need to realize that this is economically a plus for everyone, not the end of anything but maybe your overpaid job. I am a software developer, I have a day job, I do freelance, and I also write open source software. Anyone who doesn't understand how to leverage open source work into commercial paying work, is either not worthy to be paid or doing something wrong. Sorry if it puts you or your clients out of business, but that's the way capitalism works. From what you wrote it sounds like you like the concept until it starts working against you. Your protectionist views are not inspiring because the economic arguments that underpin them are fallacies. Who cares about whether Sun Microsystems survive, or if patent attorneys all go out of business? The way capitalism works: the most compelling product gets chosen, and the others die out. You're on the wrong side of economic theory here, which is not surprising because it's got your job in its sights... Your economic analysis is complete fail. Sorry that this hits close to home and bothers you, but you need to realize that this is economically a plus for everyone, not the end of anything but maybe your overpaid job. I am a software developer, I have a day job, I do freelance, and I also write open source software. Anyone who doesn’t understand how to leverage open source work into commercial paying work, is either not worthy to be paid or doing something wrong. Sorry if it puts you or your clients out of business, but that’s the way capitalism works. From what you wrote it sounds like you like the concept until it starts working against you. Your protectionist views are not inspiring because the economic arguments that underpin them are fallacies. Who cares about whether Sun Microsystems survive, or if patent attorneys all go out of business? The way capitalism works: the most compelling product gets chosen, and the others die out. You’re on the wrong side of economic theory here, which is not surprising because it’s got your job in its sights…

]]> By: Jon http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-21935 Jon Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:31:28 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-21935 Companies are trying to reduce costs, and the fact that Red Hat is doing well, doesn't really surprise me. Whether they are trying to reduce patent drafting costs, or IT costs, it all is the same in the end. Open source has some real benefits in my mind, even beyond costs. It's nice to see it being adopted. Companies are trying to reduce costs, and the fact that Red Hat is doing well, doesn’t really surprise me. Whether they are trying to reduce patent drafting costs, or IT costs, it all is the same in the end. Open source has some real benefits in my mind, even beyond costs. It’s nice to see it being adopted.

]]> By: Baby Gift Ideas http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-10338 Baby Gift Ideas Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:18:13 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-10338 I installed IE8 beta 2 and noticed my web pages would not load accurately. Objects were missing, fonts were to big and not adjustable with the font prefs. My antivirus became disabled. Could not uninstall (option not available). No spuninst.exe file. Would not let me reinstall IE7. After posting to many forums found that IE8 is not compatible with service pack 3. Had to reformat OS partition. I installed IE8 beta 2 and noticed my web pages would not load accurately. Objects were missing, fonts were to big and not adjustable with the font prefs. My antivirus became disabled. Could not uninstall (option not available). No spuninst.exe file. Would not let me reinstall IE7. After posting to many forums found that IE8 is not compatible with service pack 3. Had to reformat OS partition.

]]> By: beyli.jecj http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-8998 beyli.jecj Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:23:50 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-8998 One of the things that open source is doing is removing the horrible waste in the software industry. I have worked for many software companies and spent a lot of time re-writing the same software again and again for a different boss. None of this software is value-add or core-competency it is just utility code that is required. The cost of this silly exercise is the burden of the customers, to the detriment of the rest of the economy. Your position is that it is in our long-term best interest for the software industry to redundantly create the same stuff. I contend that the software industry needs to evolve to a model where their customers are paying for real value and not for wasted effort. The idea is that everyone has a right to run, modify, redistribute, or improve the software they use for any reason. One of the things that open source is doing is removing the horrible waste in the software industry. I have worked for many software companies and spent a lot of time re-writing the same software again and again for a different boss. None of this software is value-add or core-competency it is just utility code that is required. The cost of this silly exercise is the burden of the customers, to the detriment of the rest of the economy. Your position is that it is in our long-term best interest for the software industry to redundantly create the same stuff. I contend that the software industry needs to evolve to a model where their customers are paying for real value and not for wasted effort. The idea is that everyone has a right to run, modify, redistribute, or improve the software they use for any reason.

]]> By: Who the Lonely Freeman http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-8482 Who the Lonely Freeman Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:24:03 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-8482 Do you know the difference between Free Software and Open Source software? Free software (where free is "free as in freedom") has nothing to do with price (or quality, for that matter, though its nature tends to make it high quality). The idea is that everyone has a right to run, modify, redistribute, or improve the software they use for any reason. This does not mean that Free Software is free as in "free of charge". Commercial free software can exist, though purely "free as in freedom" commercial software does not have a large presence at the moment. Individuals can hire people/companies to modify existing software or create software for their particular needs. They would then be able to hire others to make further modifications or do it themselves. Open Source software doesn't care about freedom. They don't want to talk about ethics, etc., because that scares people away. They emphasize high quality (because everyone can contribute) and low price. However, it is not always entirely free. Free Software can work because it is concerned with ethics. Open Source cannot because it is concerned with price. Support Free Software. Use a 100% free distribution of GNU/Linux. Support the FSF. -who http://whoslonelyrants.blogspot.com/ Do you know the difference between Free Software and Open Source software? Free software (where free is “free as in freedom”) has nothing to do with price (or quality, for that matter, though its nature tends to make it high quality). The idea is that everyone has a right to run, modify, redistribute, or improve the software they use for any reason. This does not mean that Free Software is free as in “free of charge”. Commercial free software can exist, though purely “free as in freedom” commercial software does not have a large presence at the moment. Individuals can hire people/companies to modify existing software or create software for their particular needs. They would then be able to hire others to make further modifications or do it themselves.

Open Source software doesn’t care about freedom. They don’t want to talk about ethics, etc., because that scares people away. They emphasize high quality (because everyone can contribute) and low price. However, it is not always entirely free.

Free Software can work because it is concerned with ethics. Open Source cannot because it is concerned with price.

Support Free Software. Use a 100% free distribution of GNU/Linux. Support the FSF.

-who

http://whoslonelyrants.blogspot.com/

]]> By: Dale B. Halling http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-6097 Dale B. Halling Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:07:37 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-6097 The “scarcity theory of property rights” is being advanced by a number of scholars at the Cato and Von Mises Institutes. Using this theory they suggest that there is no justification for intellectual property rights. The logical conclusion of their theory is intellectual labor is not deserving of pecuniary reward. Are they correct that scarcity is the basis of property rights? See <a href="http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/22/scarcity-%e2%80%93-does-it-prove-intellectual-property-is-unjustified/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/22/scarcity-%e2%80%93-does-it-prove-intellectual-property-is-unjustified/</a> Is the conception of ideas and inventions subject to scarcity? See <a href="http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-for-inventions/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-for-inventions/</a> Is the distribution of ideas and invention (technology diffusion) subject to scarcity? See <a href="http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-of-adoptiondistribution-of-technology/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-of-adoptiondistribution-of-technology/</a> The “scarcity theory of property rights” is being advanced by a number of scholars at the Cato and Von Mises Institutes. Using this theory they suggest that there is no justification for intellectual property rights. The logical conclusion of their theory is intellectual labor is not deserving of pecuniary reward.

Are they correct that scarcity is the basis of property rights? See http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/22/scarcity-%e2%80%93-does-it-prove-intellectual-property-is-unjustified/

Is the conception of ideas and inventions subject to scarcity? See http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-for-inventions/

Is the distribution of ideas and invention (technology diffusion) subject to scarcity? See http://hallingblog.com/2009/06/25/scarcity-and-intellectual-property-empirical-evidence-of-adoptiondistribution-of-technology/

]]> By: Gene Quinn http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-1769 Gene Quinn Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:14:36 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-1769 Agastee- Thanks for posting your thoughts. Can you expand a bit on your last paragraph, particularly: "If tomorrow one of these providers shuts down, we could be in for trouble." I think I know what you are saying, but if you could elaborate that would be great. I would not disagree that open source reduces development costs, and it is impossible to argue that at least some open source software is better than proprietary solutions. I am not anti-open source. I do think it is a bit naive for those in the open source community not to seek patents that would protect themselves if sued by proprietary software companies. -Gene Agastee-

Thanks for posting your thoughts. Can you expand a bit on your last paragraph, particularly: “If tomorrow one of these providers shuts down, we could be in for trouble.” I think I know what you are saying, but if you could elaborate that would be great.

I would not disagree that open source reduces development costs, and it is impossible to argue that at least some open source software is better than proprietary solutions. I am not anti-open source. I do think it is a bit naive for those in the open source community not to seek patents that would protect themselves if sued by proprietary software companies.

-Gene

]]> By: breadcrumbs http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-1734 breadcrumbs Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:11:22 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-1734 slaine, You might wish to think out your arguments before you post. Software and the legal industry is an incredibly bad analogy. While the statutes and cases are for the most part laid open, not everyone is allowed to practice law - and for good reason. The two industries do not share a bedrock concept, so the analogy is not tenable. Pursing your analogy would beg the question: Do you want every programmer licensed by the government as practicing lawyers are? slaine,

You might wish to think out your arguments before you post. Software and the legal industry is an incredibly bad analogy. While the statutes and cases are for the most part laid open, not everyone is allowed to practice law – and for good reason. The two industries do not share a bedrock concept, so the analogy is not tenable. Pursing your analogy would beg the question: Do you want every programmer licensed by the government as practicing lawyers are?

]]> By: slaine http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-1724 slaine Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:22:54 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-1724 Oh good, we can just agree that all you are saying is that we are embarked on a race to efficiency and companies that don't figure out a way to value add will die. Isn't this as it should be? By the way, I don't think it is as bad as you make it out to be. Take the legal industry for example, this is arguably the ultimate in open source. Anyone can look up statutes, cases, etc but people still pay for legal advice _by the hour_ and law firms still make heaps of money. I fail to see why you think the software industry Is in any way more vulnerable than any of these other race to zero industries. Oh good, we can just agree that all you are saying is that we are embarked on a race to efficiency and companies that don’t figure out a way to value add will die. Isn’t this as it should be? By the way, I don’t think it is as bad as you make it out to be. Take the legal industry for example, this is arguably the ultimate in open source. Anyone can look up statutes, cases, etc but people still pay for legal advice _by the hour_ and law firms still make heaps of money. I fail to see why you think the software industry Is in any way more vulnerable than any of these other race to zero industries.

]]> By: Agastee http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/04/02/open-source-race-to-zero-may-destroy-software-industry/id=2424/#comment-1722 Agastee Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:01:23 +0000 http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=2424#comment-1722 Interesting article. I am currently developing a video streaming web site and initially my architecture was based on proprietary software, solutions and libraries. But now I re thinking this strategy as the open source model has reduced my development costs by 60%. I am using an open source CMS, open source libraries for development, open source social and video platforms for functionality and delivery. MySQL for DB and some costs associated with storage on cloud and managed hosting. So overall, If I were to develop my future project I would recommend open source from a cost point of view. If tomorrow one of these providers shuts down, we could be in for trouble. I am not sure how to best mitigate that risk. suggestions are most welcome. Thanks Interesting article. I am currently developing a video streaming web site and initially my architecture was based on proprietary software, solutions and libraries.

But now I re thinking this strategy as the open source model has reduced my development costs by 60%.
I am using an open source CMS, open source libraries for development, open source social and video platforms for functionality and delivery. MySQL for DB and some costs associated with storage on cloud and managed hosting.

So overall, If I were to develop my future project I would recommend open source from a cost point of view. If tomorrow one of these providers shuts down, we could be in for trouble. I am not sure how to best mitigate that risk. suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks

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