Is it the end of free
October 24, 2008 3:01 pm RandomWhat happens when someone’s laid off? Survival mode switches in. Things that were once important aren’t the rules are different the goals are different, the way we think is different.
Does this mean that the Crunch could kill off Open Source.
http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=556&doc_id=166342&
I agree that people contribute because they can afford to, but at the same time this assumes that the only people contributing to Open Source are people who are doing it for free and in their spare time (or work allows a % of time to be spent on Open Source because they could afford to).
I think that the Crunch will see a resurgence of Open Source, the survival instinct is to make do, to innovate, to use the tools available and enhance them where you can… This happened in South Amercia when they had problems a few years back. With Microsoft hammering home their anti piracy in China, they are also driving thousand of people to try something else rather than welcoming them to Windows. I think we can look forward to enhancements and new software coming soon. Hardware might take a hit, as we make do but I think software will fly.
The other reason is that as developers you need to prove yourself, where better (when you don’t have a job) to prove yourself than by contributing to OS and getting yourself some community recognition. When the heat is on, yes it is survival. But if you take the, give me a net not a fish approach then you’ll keep learning, keep conributing then when oppurtunities arise you’ll be the one who stands out. Keeping and building skills is as important to getting food on the table as going out to (job) hunt.
Crowd sourcing… well with companies looking to make layoffs, if they can get their customers to do the R&D then well there’s some savings… the trick is to make make them want to take part. making people want to take part means rewards…. rewards means people bending the rules to their own ends.