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Money spent by Google in open source projects through GSoC projects is the one thing that keeps me from boycotting my use of Google products (due to invasive pr

• eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 6y ago
  You can get beyond that mindset by imagining how much money they earn by using open source software to run their infrastructure, as compared to how much they give back. It's probably a ridiculous asymmetry.
  • bawolff 6y ago
    That's such a zero sum attitude. Google gives back much more than most companies. Who cares how much they make from open source? Its not like open source comes with a price tag.
    • tamrix 6y ago
      It was a lot different than before the cloud. So when you fix some bug google may host that product 'as a service' where google profits and you don't.
      • bawolff 6y ago
        Meh,people can adopt the AGPL license if they're concerned about that. I'll never understand why half the time people will put their software under MIT terms and then be sad people don't contribute back. Besides, google as a player isn't particularly known for using the service loop hole (although others certainly do)
  • izacus 6y ago
    > You can get beyond that mindset by imagining how much money they earn by using open source software to run their infrastructure, as compared to how much they give back. Isn't earning with opensource software pretty much the best outcome for OSS? It keeps people paid to maintain it while actively giving out - e.g. see how many 3rd party browsers (not to mention Electron apps) were able to grow based on Chromium, how many Android-based devices are out there, how many projects benefit from libraries like GTest, TensorFlow. Not to mention contributions to Linux kernel.