[linux-audio-dev] Free Software vs. Open Source: Where do *you* stand?

[Chris Cannam]

On Tuesday 21 Feb 2006 20:12, Dave Robillard wrote:
> On Tue, 2006-21-02 at 15:05 +0000, Chris Cannam wrote:
> > If my free software work puts a company or its developers out of
> > work, then that's a problem for my conscience. It's not a victory
> > for free software.
>
> Yes it is.

No, the fact of people having been put out of work is not itself a 
victory for anyone.

> The world of Free Software (basically the "public domain" 
> for the sake of argument) has been improved, and the world of
> computer users in general is better off.

Sure -- you'd certainly hope that good things are also a consequence of 
the work, and they go on the other side of the ledger.

> If someone loses their job because their product was replaced with a
> superior alternative, well... this is how markets are _supposed_ to
> work.

I'm not in the market.  I'm not competing.  Because I'm not competing, 
someone else's failure is not a success for me.


Chris