How Can Companies Profit While Giving Code Away? 240
An anonymous reader writes "In an almost philosophical essay replete with references to everyone from Larry Lessig and Tim Bray to to Professor Yochai Benkler, Sun Micrososystems evangelist Simon Phipps explores the metaphor of subscription (well, of course it's not just a metaphor any more from Sun's point of view) as the way that companies will make money off of deploying open source solutions. His distinction between OS developer and OS deployer is useful, but the crux is his contention that, with a "system" such as Sun has put together like the JDS, 'You don't buy the software from Sun - instead you subscribe to the editorial outlook.' It's an alluring analogy - Sun as the editor-in-chief of a 'publication' (JDS) with readers who may or may not choose to subscribe. Worth reading."
Re:Trickle Down Theory... (Score:2, Funny)
Here at the International Change Bank ... (Score:5, Funny)
Volume
they'll make money (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Um, okay Sun... (Score:5, Funny)
Simple! (Score:4, Funny)
???
After that, profit is inevitable!
When I quit my job (Score:2, Funny)
*grin*
Re:Um, okay Sun... (Score:4, Funny)
So IE/Windows has been useing this method then? No wonder M$ makes so much money.
Re:But magazines don't stop working... (Score:5, Funny)
Shit, but ask me about 386 notebooks, and I'm all yours.
Re:Here at the International Change Bank ... (Score:1, Funny)
Volume
I've got one of those knobs on my stereo... you're telling me I can use it to make profit?!?!
Revenge of the Nerds (Score:4, Funny)
It costs nothing to give away free code. (Score:3, Funny)
How about this solution ... buggy code (Score:2, Funny)