jalal wrote: [snip]
Left to its natural course, the free software model will win. But there is so much invested in the old business model, that its quite possible the new will be 'legislated' out of existence.
A tantalizing thought is that the beacon of free software will be picked up by China, where the idea of the common good, or the commons, is more established in the age old confucian model. The US will tie itself up in laws and regulations that will stifle software development. Time will tell.
Yes, that's a shrewd view. Maybe M$ will be pushed back slowly into a bastion market where the "command and control" business model still pays, while the rest of the world (that's everyone outside about half a dozen nations) chooses a more open model, without lock-in. More worrying is the old business model's obsession with the legislative angle. Effectiely, they're presenting each new generation of kids with a tightly locked, very expensive box and then branding them criminals and pirates when, as is natural and healthy, the kids try to open it, break it or find new uses for it. Without that urge to experiment, built into our genes, we're not passing on much more than stagnation to the next generation. Not surprising that they kick hard against the pricks. Very important for the future of humanrace.inc that they do. :) Fish