Why is this any different from letting Google store my spreadsheets [etc.] It's not, much. I think those things are stupid and irresponsible as well. So much

Why is this any different from letting Google store my spreadsheets [etc.] It's not, much. I think those things are stupid and irresponsible as well. So much for cloud computing... Centralized services != cloud computing. If you had said "so much for web 2.0" we'd be in vigorous agreement. I don't see what GPL'ing the code will do (that's not a feature to most people). It's not a customer-facing feature when we're talking about small retailers, that's for sure. It is a feature that faces the small business support service firms that support small retailers. I'm going to ask my accounting firm for advice on a POS system??? For most small businesses, your accountant is guy that works out his house and can barely use e-mail. Advice? Yes. General contracting? No. Look at main st in some small city or big city neighborhood. There are (knock on wood) still some successful retail outlets. Within that market, some accountants are dominant. And successful in their own right. One of their issues is how cheaply and smoothly they get data from their small business customers. They therefore know which customers have winning set-ups for IT related stuff like POS and which do not. And if they are worth their metal, they can help a new client re-create that success. I'd bet with you, not against you, that the median small business accounting firm is useless in this regard. I'd also note that successful small business start-ups are unlikely to settle for that median.