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> Even Apple for example benefits in part and has benefited from open source software that wouldn't exist without people who valued software freedom. Let’s not
by beervirus 6y ago
> Even Apple for example benefits in part and has benefited from open source software that wouldn't exist without people who valued software freedom.
Let’s not get into the free vs open source issue. Apple has benefited from open source, not from free software.
My point is that if free software produces better software, then great—that’s something people care about. But that’s far from clear, and the fact that it’s free won’t make up for it being worse. It’s just irrelevant for almost everyone.
- michaelmrose 6y agoThe fact that you believe it doesn't make it so. Maximum profit would be earned from fully locked down environments that have as little freedom as possible so that revenue can be extracted from any possible upside. Example control who is allowed to write software for the platform so that there is only one source of mapping software that can be monetized by the month and by the feature. The fact that we mostly don't use environments like that is because users and creators value freedom. The person who wants to write their own closed source mapping software monetized by the month and the feature for 9 dollars a month instead of 10 STILL values software freedom a little. Most people value software freedom somewhat even if only as what they perceive as the status quo and would get frustrated if that changed.