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What's The Linux Kernel Worth?

Posted by timothy on from the tree-falls-in-forest-makes-sound dept.

schneelocke writes "What's the value of the Linux kernel? After an offer by one Jeff V. Merkey to pay 50K USD for a BSD-licensed copy of Linux, David Wheeler does some calculations and comes up with an estimate of 612M USD." Wheeler has come up with a number of interesting software-worth estimates and other quantified facts about Free software; since some aspects involve ineffables and hypotheticals, the details can be argued, but he provides a good framework with SLOCCount.

3 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. No price by joxeanpiti · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Linux has no price. Is not for sale.

  2. GPL vs BSD by ryanw · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I personally believe the last string holding Linux back is the GPL. If there was ONE linux fork that could be under the BSD tree and one under the GPL tree, how does that hurt anything? The GPL believe that the GPL is the best thing in the world and that's the best way to develop software. So why don't the GPL followers just continue development with the GPL and then the BSD believers could develop on the BSD tree. And we'll get to see which becomes the BEST linux in the end.

    It would be an excellent way to actually test the beliefs of the GPL vs BSD. Uptill now it's just speculation and feelings as to what would happen.

  3. BSD licensed Linux Kernel? by nurb432 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    But if that was done, it wouldn't be linux anymore..

    It would be a total rewrite.. and be something else..

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----