Re: [Gnu-arch-users] [OT] funding free software R&D

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

>>>>> "Barak" == Barak Zalstein <address@hidden> writes:

    >> In short, I think that companies like those listed above
    >> should, in effect, just give people like me a bunch of money.

    Barak> I think that the real problem is still that no one is
    Barak> willing to pay for something that he can get for free
    Barak> (well, almost),

That is not true.  People regularly pay for things that they can get
for free, such as Red Hat Linux, Berkeley db, the X Window System,
etc.  Sometimes they use the bundled fringe benefits (support, etc),
but often they do not.

The real problem is that people are unwilling to pay for something
they don't want.  What people want is a better CVS; what people want
is something that will reduce the annoyances they have to deal with
without changing what they do.  (Robert Anderson's request for
Reply-To munging is a case in point.)  If you can give them that, and
the real benefits of arch, too, that would be great.

But you understand that, implicitly:

    Barak> that developer would be happy to use something just like
    Barak> arch (with a proper GUI, not some emacs mode)

[Aside: There are GUI Emacs modes.  Not many, because most Emacs
developers are too busy adding function to get into value-subtracting
activity like GUI development.  :-)  But they do exist.  pcl-cvs, in
fact, is such.]

    Barak> for tasks like branching/merging or reducing maintenance
    Barak> cost of his patch to some open source project (of course
    Barak> not giving up the pointy-clicky MS
    Barak> development/source-control tools, but as an additional
    Barak> tool).

[...]
    Barak> instead of aiming toward elite programming.

As I understand it, arch is not aimed at "elite programming."  It's
aiming at a real (large and growing) hole in support for some of the
things that should be every-day activities of small-scale developers,
not limited to large companies that can afford non-developer technical
staff to support the developers.


-- 
Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences     http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp
University of Tsukuba                    Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN
               Ask not how you can "do" free software business;
              ask what your business can "do for" free software.