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Working pretty hard on my open-source projects at http://binaryage.com http://binaryage.com. Until today I've got $12 in contributions via addons.mozilla.com :

by woid 17y ago

Working pretty hard on my open-source projects at http://binaryage.com http://binaryage.com. Until today I've got $12 in contributions via addons.mozilla.com :-) But I'm optimistic I hope someday I will be able to do it full time and possibly make living from it. But it seems I have a long journey ahead, for the meantime I had to stick with freelance/client work ... Any ideas what should I focus at highly appreciated! Your experience may help me move faster. Thanks.

revorad 17y ago
Wow, you seem to be building a lot of cool things. Why don't you sell your software? It can still be open source, but why not ask people to pay for it?
WA 17y ago
Beautiful webpage you've got there :) What might work for open-source: 1. Once you have a couple users, announce new features that are requested by a lot of your users and tell them:"It takes me X hours to work on that, once I got donations worth Y $, I start developing that feature". 2. Distribute two builds: One build with new features that is commercial and another (older) build that is open-source, but doesn't have the newest features. The open-source build could be somewhat like 6-12 months behind the commercial release.
- tjr 17y ago
  Or possibly don't offer an open source build at all. If someone wants an executable, they pay for a distribution of it, while they can get the source code for free. This opens the door to the possibility of someone else making builds and distributing them for free (legally), but there may be something to be said for you being the original source of the software, rather than a third-party. If you can market your website as the place to get the software, maybe enough people won't bother looking for other sources anyway. EDIT: ...depending on who your market is, of course. If I found a website distributing software as described, I would first look for a free build of it somewhere else, figuring that it probably exists. Failing that, I would probably download the source code and spend a small amount of time trying to make it build. If I can get it built in short order, then great. If not, then I'd probably buy the "official" build, depending on the cost and how much I want the software. (It might be more cost efficient for me to keep trying to get the build to work, vs. pay a high distribution fee.) But I am not the average computer user. Neither are most people who read this website. Most computer users have little or no concept of what open source is, no capacity for building software from source, and, I suspect, less savvy when it comes to finding a build from a third party. So if your software's target userbase is not computer nerds, then charging a distribution fee for a build may be more feasible... and not unjust, either, as you are truly providing a service to such people, compared to just offering source code, anyway, which, in theory they could learn how to build, or could pay another programmer to build for them.
woid 17y ago
thank you for ideas. 1. I don't really think pledge-type would work for me. Tried once on microPledge and it has zero feedback. 2. Keeping separate open-souce version behind commercial few months sound interesting, but it would make managing my projects harder. I guess I need to keep things simple. 3. My target audience is developers. Providing just builds as a commercial service is nothing most of them would pay for. I'm thinking I would probably do simplest thing possible. I'll offer future product as closed-source and stick a price on it. Say TotalFinder .-)

by woid 17y ago

revorad 17y ago

Wow, you seem to be building a lot of cool things. Why don't you sell your software? It can still be open source, but why not ask people to pay for it?

WA 17y ago

Beautiful webpage you've got there :) What might work for open-source: 1. Once you have a couple users, announce new features that are requested by a lot of your users and tell them:"It takes me X hours to work on that, once I got donations worth Y $, I start developing that feature". 2. Distribute two builds: One build with new features that is commercial and another (older) build that is open-source, but doesn't have the newest features. The open-source build could be somewhat like 6-12 months behind the commercial release.

tjr 17y ago
Or possibly don't offer an open source build at all. If someone wants an executable, they pay for a distribution of it, while they can get the source code for free. This opens the door to the possibility of someone else making builds and distributing them for free (legally), but there may be something to be said for you being the original source of the software, rather than a third-party. If you can market your website as the place to get the software, maybe enough people won't bother looking for other sources anyway. EDIT: ...depending on who your market is, of course. If I found a website distributing software as described, I would first look for a free build of it somewhere else, figuring that it probably exists. Failing that, I would probably download the source code and spend a small amount of time trying to make it build. If I can get it built in short order, then great. If not, then I'd probably buy the "official" build, depending on the cost and how much I want the software. (It might be more cost efficient for me to keep trying to get the build to work, vs. pay a high distribution fee.) But I am not the average computer user. Neither are most people who read this website. Most computer users have little or no concept of what open source is, no capacity for building software from source, and, I suspect, less savvy when it comes to finding a build from a third party. So if your software's target userbase is not computer nerds, then charging a distribution fee for a build may be more feasible... and not unjust, either, as you are truly providing a service to such people, compared to just offering source code, anyway, which, in theory they could learn how to build, or could pay another programmer to build for them.

woid 17y ago

thank you for ideas. 1. I don't really think pledge-type would work for me. Tried once on microPledge and it has zero feedback. 2. Keeping separate open-souce version behind commercial few months sound interesting, but it would make managing my projects harder. I guess I need to keep things simple. 3. My target audience is developers. Providing just builds as a commercial service is nothing most of them would pay for. I'm thinking I would probably do simplest thing possible. I'll offer future product as closed-source and stick a price on it. Say TotalFinder .-)