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From: Ludovic Brenta <ludovic@ludovic-brenta.org>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Ada is getting more popular!
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:33:37 +0200
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Date: 2010-10-28T22:33:37+02:00
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Dmitry A. Kazakov writes on comp.lang.ada:
>> Open source would've solved my problem. Open source would've made
>> sure that my 17 employees could count on still having a job in the
>> near future.
>
> For you, yes, but at the macro economical level, as a model, open
> source cannot work. There is no return to the natural economy.

I'm not even sure what you mean by that but what you call "the
macro-economical level" is completely irrelevant to one business
deciding whether or not they need the sources of the software they're
buying.  And a manager who buys black-box software is simply making a
mistake, the size of which is commensurate to how much the business
depends on that software.  Thomas learned from that past mistake and you
would be well-advised to listen to him.

>> With black box software you simply never know.
>
> This is normal. I go to the shop and see that the product I used to
> buy is no more available. Bad luck. Software update is a product as
> any other.

This may be normal but it is stupid to allow your business to depend on
something you don't know, without a practical or economical way out if
things don't evolve as you wish.

If a software vendor wants to hide their sources from me, I can only see
two explanations:

- their sources are so ugly I'd never want to run their software if I
  did see them;

- they want to turn me into a captive customer, which I absolutely
  refuse to be.

If I were running a business, if a vendor refused to give me their
sources then I would refuse to give them my money.  Simple as that.

-- 
Ludovic Brenta.