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How Can Companies Profit While Giving Code Away?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the make-it-up-on-volume dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In an almost philosophical essay replete with references to everyone from Larry Lessig and Tim Bray to to Professor Yochai Benkler, Sun Micrososystems evangelist Simon Phipps explores the metaphor of subscription (well, of course it's not just a metaphor any more from Sun's point of view) as the way that companies will make money off of deploying open source solutions. His distinction between OS developer and OS deployer is useful, but the crux is his contention that, with a "system" such as Sun has put together like the JDS, 'You don't buy the software from Sun - instead you subscribe to the editorial outlook.' It's an alluring analogy - Sun as the editor-in-chief of a 'publication' (JDS) with readers who may or may not choose to subscribe. Worth reading."

12 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Trickle Down Theory... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    trickle-down my ass! hey, wait...

  2. Here at the International Change Bank ... by craenor · · Score: 4, Funny

    People ask how we make a profit, I'll tell you...

    Volume

    1. Re:Here at the International Change Bank ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      People ask how we make a profit, I'll tell you...

      Volume

      I've got one of those knobs on my stereo... you're telling me I can use it to make profit?!?!

  3. they'll make money by Moonlapse · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just use the argument for mp3's. When Sun goes on its 'tour', 'arenas' will sellout to see 'live' code

    --
    - I got my free iPod and a free Nintendo DS....why not
  4. Re:Um, okay Sun... by Throtex · · Score: 4, Funny

    You might be on to something... // This block of source code was brought to // you by McDonalds! Try our new extra value // meals at just 1 dollar apiece! // // McDonalds... I'm lovin' it!

  5. Simple! by ivarneli · · Score: 4, Funny

    Simple, just follow step number 2:

    ???

    After that, profit is inevitable!

  6. When I quit my job by Craig+Ringer · · Score: 2, Funny

    "When I quit my job because my boss is an asshole, I called the maker of this software I know they pirated. The guy who answered the phone laughed so hard it sounded like he was going to die, then hung up. What the hell?"

    *grin*

  7. Re:Um, okay Sun... by ArsonSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

    Maybe some add has to pop up first before any application you activate runs...

    So IE/Windows has been useing this method then? No wonder M$ makes so much money.

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  8. Re:But magazines don't stop working... by dave420 · · Score: 5, Funny
    The magazines do stop working. My stack of PC World mags from 1993 aren't as up-to-date as a similar publication I could buy today. Magazines are one big time-bomb, because they can never be updated, only replaced.

    Shit, but ask me about 386 notebooks, and I'm all yours.

  9. Revenge of the Nerds by suso · · Score: 3, Funny

    For some reason, this article made me think of the pie selling contest in Revenge of the Nerds. Where they put a special surprise underneath the pie.

  10. It costs nothing to give away free code. by karlandtanya · · Score: 2, Funny

    Since it doesn't actually exist.

    --
    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
  11. How about this solution ... buggy code by LemonFire · · Score: 2, Funny

    Give away code including bugs and all for free but charge for those bug fix/patch releases. ;-)