Besides is Linus really "free"? My time has value too (about $50/hour) and the hours I spent trying to connect to my ISP could have been spent earning overtime at work, buying Windoze for ~$120, and still having some cash leftover in my pocket. Sometimes it's worth handing-over the credit card to get plug-and-play software, rather than put-up with free software's constant need to "configure" everything.
Even with plug and play software you have sometimes to stay hour to fix a problem because they aren't doing what they were told to do, so in that case you have spent $$ to buy the program and you have to spent time trying to fix problem or either contact customer support to find a way to solve the problem. This is not about Foss or proprietary sw, it's about wether a program is good or not and if their "default config" is enough satisfying for the 99% of the users who are just beginning with it. So maybe today you will find your linux distro more enjoyable since many default configuration works for lots of people and you haven't to spend time making custom configs.
I don't suppose your proposal has any more detail to it?
no sorry, i just know the system today is flawed but i don't have any serious proposal.
Actually, anyone doing research really doesn't have to worry about other people's patents. Since the beginning, patent law has recognized a strong research exemption from infringement.
So if you're doing research that you simply want to donate to the commons, then you have nothing to worry about.
Now, if you plan on selling the invention or using it in your business, *then* you need to worry about patents.
yes that's what i'm talking about R&D for business since the one for the "commons" is mostly a matter of universities rather than private companies.
The Tao is like a glob pattern: used but never used up. It is like the extern void: filled with infinite possibilities.