🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <MIKE.93Jan23142230@mystix.cs.uoregon.edu>,
mike@mystix.cs.uoregon.edu (Michael John Haertel) wrote:
>
> The line of argument seems to be as follows:
>   Given a choice between an adequate free product and an excellent
>   commercial product, users will nearly always choose the free product
>   even though it may not fully meet their needs.  Gnu software is
>   flooding the marketplace with adequate free products, and therefore
>   people who wish to develop better proprietary products will not be
>   able to make a living.  Thus Gnu software kills innovation.
>
> The fallacy of this argument is obvious.  The argument claims that gnu
> software harms innovation, since in the absence of gnu software better
> products would edge out the poorer ones.  The history of the proprietary
> software industry shows that nothing is farther from the truth:  the
> success of a product has little to do with its technical merit, and a
> lot to do with marketing and "standardization".

IMHO, the same could be said about GNU software: It does not succeed on its
technical merit, but because it is free and widely used (i.e. marketing and
standardization). Therefore, the same argument applies: How much would one
pay for a slightly better compiler than GCC? How much would one pay for an
unbelievably better super-compiler? Enough to even justify development
costs? How much incentive does a company that makes "free" compilers have
for innovation? Almost none. Note: porting is not innovation.

> As a counterclaim, I would like to suggest that making adequate free
> software available is a good way to help force entrenched obsolete
> software out of the marketplace, and therefore the gnu project may
> help improve software diversity.

Yes, it probably will force entrenched obsolete software out the market.
Normal market forces do that, too. The problem with GNU is that it forces
other companies out the market. This reduces the base of those with
incentive to make the new software and spur innovation.

Clearly, the only reasonable alternative under a GNU-utopia would be to
take jobs in software maintenance.

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Mel Walker                                    mwalker@novell.com
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