Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on July 25, 2002 06:01 AM
We should refrain from justifying proprietary
software by invoking the need of a programmer
to make a living. When someone like a baker
sells some bread to a customer, nothing in
that transaction makes the buyer dependent on
the seller. That customer can easily go buy
his bread elsewhere the next time.
But when the software industry chooses to
publish proprietary software, it deliberately
tries to make the user dependent on the secrecy
of the program's sources, file formats and
protocols. Software companies typically expect
that dependency to generate future revenue (bug
fixes, upgrades, unremovable advertizing, etc).
Most people make a living that does not involve
such restrictive practices. Programmers should
at least recognize that proprietary software is
a dubious way of making a living and that the
industry needs to evolve.
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Re:Hypocrisy
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on July 25, 2002 06:01 AMsoftware by invoking the need of a programmer
to make a living. When someone like a baker
sells some bread to a customer, nothing in
that transaction makes the buyer dependent on
the seller. That customer can easily go buy
his bread elsewhere the next time.
But when the software industry chooses to
publish proprietary software, it deliberately
tries to make the user dependent on the secrecy
of the program's sources, file formats and
protocols. Software companies typically expect
that dependency to generate future revenue (bug
fixes, upgrades, unremovable advertizing, etc).
Most people make a living that does not involve
such restrictive practices. Programmers should
at least recognize that proprietary software is
a dubious way of making a living and that the
industry needs to evolve.
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