From: haley@husc11.harvard.edu (Elizabeth Haley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools,comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc
Subject: Re: Stallman and friends
Date: 7 Jan 93 10:21:26 GMT
 <1993Jan05.231932.21087@eng.umd.edu> <c99K035xc7gF00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>

alan@xserver.uts.amdahl.com (Alan Bomberger) writes:

>Gosh I hate to step into a political argument but I thought
>I was the only one who had trouble with FSF.  They don't mind
>making money on software (you pay FSF to develop software) but
>they do make it impossible to distribute the cost of software
>development (once FSF delivers the software you paid them to
>develop you must give it away).  This philosophy if followed
>by others would certainly stop speculative software development.

What stops you from advertising that software as a feature of your
computer systems? I will always think highly of Harris Corp. cause
they not only provided GNU emacs and a few other things, they provided
a preprinted manual in a spiffy binder. And in just a few short
months, it was one of my most important tools...

>Why would I pay FSF (or anyone else with the same philosophy)
>X thousand dollars to develop software and then have no way
>to recover my costs?  Because it is good for society?  I have
>heard these arguments before in other political and economic
>discussions.  Who is paying for development of GCC?  Why?

Everyone. Everyone should. that would make it very cheap to produce,
and even cheaper to maintain...

>Do you think there would be such excellent software in such
>large volumes for the Mac (or any other system) if there were
>no way for the developers of that software to make money?  Semantec
>would give away SAM?  I must be a capitalist or something.

If anyone ought to release their source code, it is Apple, as well as
many of the other Mac Developers...
I was never so shocked to see a magazine article say that a piece of
software "Only crashed once"...
This is an attitude brought on by the rush-it-to-market actions of the
big software houses, who value timing more than quality...


Look, I think everyone is blowing things way ought of proportion, to
the point where I fully expect the guy who made the original post is
going to start seeing GNU spies soon...

Correct me if I am wrong, ye GNU Fans, but stallman was originally
incensed that they were going to sell his editor, instead of following
the practice of leaving it out for others too improve and learn
from...

It went from there.

Sure, he has stated that he thought software development ought to be
subsidied by the state, but the was just a suggestion...

I believe the thing he objects to is Corporate Raiders with no
knowledge of computers beyond how to use their spreadsheets making
money off of the sweat of honest programmers, and honest programmers
turning into Corporate greedheads...

If you feel threatened by GNU, do what Cygnus did! (I tip my hat to
Cygnus)
Start your own GNU support group and charge largish fees for largish
work. Make the software work better, and do something commercial with
it, like keeping books for people, or making neat animations... But
DAMMIT, work for your money!

I can't believe people DARE to complain about GNU charging people for
distribution and complaining that he threatens your jobs.
If AT&T were seling that package, they'd charge $10,000 and you
wouldn't get source code...

And if Mac were doing it, the damn source code would be corrupt.!

How that for religious fervor!

--
When life seems to be getting you down...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
======David Charles Todd, tHE mAN wITH tHREE fIRST nAMES======
-------------------- David misses eBeth ----------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-hacksaw@headcheese.daa.uc.edu=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			   ...ask it why it is torturing geese

-- 
=------------------THE-AUTHOR-OF-THIS-SIGNATURE-IS-A-GERBIL!----------------=
=The author of this letter is a fabulously intelligent person and is very   =
=Silly. She is also remarkably well loved, by the author of this signature. =
=---------------------------haley@husc9.harvard.edu-------------------------=
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer