Comment Re:open source (Score 1) 581
And rightly so... if the OSS company is selling the software. Anyone that charges money for a product should be held accountable for its impact on consumers. Automobile makers need to make sure their cars are safe. Software companies should be required to make sure their software is reasonably safe (secure) and performs as advertised. It doesn't matter whether that product was open source or closed.
We may prefer to buy an automobile that uses recycled metal and US labor, just like we might prefer to use software that follows a certain ideology. Regardless of choice, the consumer needs to have assurances that they get what they pay for and be protected from the abuses of monopoly power. Just think what might happen if we had only one car manufacturer with no viable competition, and no laws to mandate a certain level of safety.
We may prefer to buy an automobile that uses recycled metal and US labor, just like we might prefer to use software that follows a certain ideology. Regardless of choice, the consumer needs to have assurances that they get what they pay for and be protected from the abuses of monopoly power. Just think what might happen if we had only one car manufacturer with no viable competition, and no laws to mandate a certain level of safety.
