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Ask Slashdot: What Would You Pay To See Open Sourced?

Posted by EditorDavid on from the crowdfunding-code dept.

jbrase writes: It's in the interest of the open-source community to make open-source development as profitable as possible. One potential means of making money from open source is crowdfunding, [but] proprietary vendors aren't likely to be enthusastic about using their flagship product to try out a relatively untested business model. Crowdfunding the open source release of legacy technologies of historical significance could provide a low-risk way for vendors to experiment with making money by crowdfunding: The product has already turned them a profit.

With that, I'd like to ask Slashdot readers, what would you pay to see open sourced?
Slashdot reader jonwil left a comment suggesting old games ("where the game is no longer being developed/worked on and where the engine/tech is no longer being used for anything"). But the sky's the limit here, so leave your own best answers in the comments. What would you pay to see open sourced?

9 of 483 comments (clear)

  1. Windows 7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    M$ lock-in is the worst thing about Windows 7. It's a great desktop OS in most ways. I paid $300(AUD) for it anyway - it would have been nice to pay $300 for it to be free instead.

  2. Cell Phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Top to bottom, we should have a DRM-free open-source cell phone, including hardware and software.

  3. AutoCAD by digitect · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There are no open source CAD softwares capable of producing the drawings used in architecture, engineering, design, and manufacturing. Yet, that same, expensive proprietary package continues on with the same performance hogging, unstable, fluff enhanced software that hasn't really changed in 15 years.

    --
    There is no need to use a SlashDot sig for SEO...
    1. Re:AutoCAD by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      FreeCAD works for me. I especially like scripting in Python. AutoCAD uses Lisp for scripting, but it is buggy and not included at all in the "lite" edition for students.

      Even if AutoCAD was free, I would prefer FreeCAD.

  4. Re: Photoshop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And apply the same to Photoshop. Coming at both from the perspective of an absolute novice, I found GIMP's easier to figure out.

  5. My country's future by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I would like the future of my country to be decided by the people and in the open. No more back-room dealing and secrecy.

  6. Re:Picasa by johannesg · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Totally agreed. Hey Google, how about it?

  7. Winamp and Picasa by johannesg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    After reading the other article, why not open source winamp? Surely it would be more useful than it is rotting away... Same for Picasa.

  8. Google Pagerank by Nuitari+The+Wiz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think Google Pagerank is what defines what most of us see whenever we search for something on the web. Being such an important gateway between someone and the information. Does it have biases? How much censorship does it do ? How many false positive happen for the spam filtering? and so many other questions.