Lost jobs due to open source

[Senectus .]

On 8/24/05, Benj. Mako Hill <mako at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> Imagine a world where paying people for software licenses is
> *illegal*. Take a moment to try and imagine it. Have people stopped
> using computers or computer software? Are all programmers unemployed?
> 
> I can't help but think that the answer to both questions is "of course
> not." Now, my first concern is not the money. First and foremost, I'm
> here because I want to spread freedom and because I think that freedom
> for software has some real practical benefits.  But the happy fact
> remains that people need computer software and people are going to pay
> someone to write it. Licensing fees are just one way to extract money
> for a service. There are others.
> 
> Jeff is right of course and most programmers are paid to do very
> custom work that never makes it inside a box. This doesn't change
> anything I've said above but it does demonstrate that that the
> transition to that world without licensing is hardly going to be a
> rough or traumatic one for the vast majority of hackers.

Well said.
IBM is mega corporation of whom I have a lot of respect for, they too
have seen the future and decided that _services_ is where the money
and future is.

I'd take it a step further I reckon that eventually the bandwidth that
common ISP's offer will be enough that they will start hosting all
your data on their servers with backups and AV services included.
Then they may take the next step, and offer the free software and OS
_WITH SUPPORT_ as a part of their package.. you plug the PC in, ring
them and tell them you want and OS with a subscription to various
games and a few apps for home accounting, digital video editing, music
etc.. they ask for your credit card number and tell you to leave the
PC plugged in overnight while they install and set it up for you.

All this is a perfect 1:1 fit for Open Source Software, and the two
things "services and support" and "Open Source Software" will feed
each other and the world will grow and develop and massively increased
rate.
Exciting times are ahead for OSS :-D


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