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On Wed, Feb 19, 2003 at 10:06:51PM -0800, Andrew Plato wrote:
> For example:
>
> 1. Its not free.
>
> 2. Its not a democracy
>
> 3. Its not always a viable technology
Just my two cents, but working in business is just like this. The money's
gotta come from somewhere, there's somebody at the top, and projects fail.
That said, and to address the original poster: I don't think working on Open
Source projects will help you meet bills in a time of crisis, no. It's
useful for networking and improving one's skills, but it's not at all
appropriate for making quick cash from writing about (one can find
contracting programming work, though).
Also, as a nitpick, when the word "free" is used with regards to Open
Source, it's not usually in a context of money but liberty. One is free to
copy, share, and adapt OS projects to one's own ends. Many projects (Emacs
and Linux distributions spring to mind) charge for their products. It's due
to an ambiguity in English vocabulary that OS is often criticized by saying
that "it's only free if your time is worthless" -- indeed, the same cost
applies to proprietary and/or commercial ventures. OS proponents label it
"free" to point out that after one has paid the costs required by any
choice, the OS solution gives one rights of use and modification that one
would not otherwise have.
There's some interesting developments in the area focused towards writing
(and music) instead of code. Open Content (www.opencontent.org) and Lawrence
Lessig's Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org) are probably the eminent
institutions.
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