Re: [LAU] A year of Linux Audio revisited - would like to know your oppinion

I think a more fundamental problem is that people who develop code more often than not either do not have enough time to come up with a viable business model, or [no offense] are not the best business people within the context of values established by the predominantly capitalist society. Ardour is one of ostensible exceptions (among others). Paul has created a foundation for something solid and in the process of doing so has never forgotten the business side of things. And while I do not know how the project has been doing in the past couple of months, I do recall that he was able to secure at least a couple funding opportunities along the way, and more importantly attract contributors, some of whom were apparently drafted via Google's summer of code program. All these opportunities exist and yes they are very time consuming, and yes they are in many ways not 100% guaranteed, and yet if you don't play (whether due to lack of time or skill) you have 0% chance of winning. Coupled with this is another fundamental problem--the tradition of unfortunate Linux PR priorities. To this day, we waste too much breath on "it's free" argument. While this certainly gives Linux a special status in and of itself, not only has this been already well established long ago to the point people are sick of hearing it, but I also think on audio side of things more than anywhere else this argument has been abused as "but, this one goes to 11" trump card. And so something that was virtually impossible to trump as a *silent* advantage has been rebranded into a loud copout whenever we face superior technology that is not available on Linux. More importantly, the loudness of this argument has in some ways caused pursuit of paid software on Linux like shooting ourselves in foot as such move would destroy what has become in effect the core argument and consequently make comparison of our software with commercial giants appropriate after all. Trying to make a living is a noble cause and if pursuit of such funding will enable you to dedicate more time/resources to that which you like and ultimately generate a better and more competitive product, then perhaps this is not such a bad idea after all. And for those who may not have the time, resources, or simply skills to pursue funding/sponsorship/patronage, we do have entities in OSS community who could ostensibly help in the process provided they have adequate staffing and ultimately community support. Best wishes, Ico