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The other model that works well is the open source one, with the maintainer having "another job"; e.g. academics doing scientific research (CERN!) or corporatio
by azalemeth 5y ago
The other model that works well is the open source one, with the maintainer having "another job"; e.g. academics doing scientific research (CERN!) or corporations who use the project internally. Unfortunately, the fact that the latter vastly outnumber the former means that the largest open-source projects are arguably corporate middleware or those of benefit to large corporations rather than users per se. People like me who use linux a lot are free software zealots. I wish Apple was more open on this -- they could quite easily be a hardware company and charge for services and yet make the code free -- but for whatever reason they've always kept the code close to their chest.
Subscriptions may make more sense as B2B software where the needs change over time, businesses tend to like having a two-way conversation more and a well-defined bill at the end of each year isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a private consumer though, selling a subscription is a surefire way to make me say no -- I'm not doing it.
- eaplmx 5y agoA problem with open and free projects (to oversimplify the ideological differences) is the source of time and purpose. The production cost is subsidized as a Hobbie not as a profession, so it's hard to expect a 'consumer product'. When you put external money and corporate interest in your hobbies, something breaks. Not saying open products don't have to exist, we all love them. They cover different creative needs, and usually are a gift for the community. https://apenwarr.ca/log/20211229 https://apenwarr.ca/log/20211229 - The Gift of It's your problem now
- warrenm 5y agoThat's a FANTASTIC blog post!
- rglullis 5y agoIf Apple open sourced their software, they'd go back to the same spot they were when they allowed other companies to produce Mac clones[0]. It's not going to happen. [0]: https://everymac.com/systems/mac-clones/index-mac-clones.html https://everymac.com/systems/mac-clones/index-mac-clones.htm...