Subject: commercial benefits of open-source-software [Australia]
From: Stanley Long (slong@customcpu.com)
Date: Wed Feb 25 2004 - 13:23:28 AKST
Email Interview for Internet.Au magazine 23 February 2004
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/osl/internetau040223.html
Question:#4:
4) There is a perception that using 'free software' can pose a risk to
users' computer hardware, and/or to the security and privacy of any data
stored on their computers ,,,
Excerpts from the answe by Brendan Scott, brendan@opensourcelaw.biz
Open Source Law, Sidney Australia
http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/osl/
Under the lock in model a vendor makes a development decision based on
what will sell and based on their market research. ...vendors tend to
make more compromises in order to please a broader audience, ...
Further the security level will tend to be the minimum required to sell
the product ...
So, put another way, under the free software model the security you get
is the highest level of security that any particular users thinks is
necessary. Under the lock in model you get the lowest amount of security
that the majority of users think is necessary (and are therefore willing
to pay for).
...
To say that because you're not selling a product you have no way of
making money is a complete furphy. Plumbers and lawyers don't sell
products, they sell services. When was the last time you saw one of
their number starving in the street?
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