From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,bc1361a952ec75ca X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-08-23 19:22:33 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!headwall.stanford.edu!unlnews.unl.edu!newsfeed.ksu.edu!nntp.ksu.edu!news.okstate.edu!not-for-mail From: David Starner Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Progress on AdaOS Date: 24 Aug 2001 01:03:26 GMT Organization: Oklahoma State University Message-ID: <9m494u$9ic1@news.cis.okstate.edu> References: <9IFe7.12813$6R6.1221214@news1.cableinet.net> <9lghqu$ac6$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B7C3293.76F49097@home.com> <9lhefg$lgd$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B7D47F1.25D6FC78@boeing.com> <5ee5b646.0108171856.18631c4c@posting.google.com> <3B7F624B.7294D24F@acm.org> <9lr6je$5hj$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9ltoi7$4is$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B82789B.8D195045@home.com> <9ltuo8$70n$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B829450.879B0396@home.com> <9m0d08$51j$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B83DE1A.7770DC9C@home.com> <9m0rc6$ak0$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B83F894.D7082F9A@home.com> <9m12li$db7$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9m1u2m$baq2@news.cis.okstate.edu> <9m3ifu$bri$1@nh.pace.co.uk> Reply-To: dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org NNTP-Posting-Host: x8b4e52a0.dhcp.okstate.edu User-Agent: slrn/0.9.7.2 (Linux) Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:12368 Date: 2001-08-24T01:03:26+00:00 List-Id: On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 14:36:45 -0400, Marin David Condic wrote: > First off, any number of companies have been started as "garage operations" > developing software with an eye toward "we'll make money on it later" > philosophy. Are you seriously questioning that people start ventures to > build software with no salary but an eye toward making money off of it > later? Not Windows-size ventures. Not Microsoft Word size ventures. Especially not anything that's going to compete against Windows or Word. Every company I've thought of that started like that started small - GraphicWorkshop for DOS, Wolfenstein 3d. Nothing that would take a number of programmers many years to complete. > Second, for every Open Source success story, you can probably find 10 > successful, made for profit, sold for profit, software products under > various other licenses. Proof? Go to CompUSA. Start at one end of the > software sold for profit rack and keep counting until you get to the other > end. So? Go to CompUSA and count the C/C++ books. More doesn't mean better. I wasn't attacking for profit software writing in general, either. I just think there's places where it's no longer feasible. > My contention here is that things done for profit often have a higher > success rate because people have some kind of financial incentive at stake. And several people have pointed out articles that show that's not necessarily true. > Things done as volunteer, labor of love efforts are not at all prohibited > from being successful, nor should they be banned by law as somehow > intrinsically "evil" - just that they have more of a tendency to languish > because nobody's paycheck or financial future is on the line over it. And what idiot is going to put their financial future on the line over AdaOS? Whoever that idiot is, they're going to be starving quickly; at best, it'll take 5 years for AdaOS to become profitable, assuming they can budge the Windows/Mac/Unix hegemony in that time (BeOS and OS/2 couldn't, and both were arguably much better operating systems than their competition.) > Why > does that seem to be so mysterious? What is it that takes precidence in most > of our lives? Our jobs or our hobbies? But most of us have jobs, or some other way to feed ourselves. You're claiming something different; that the small possibility of moderate amounts of money in the distant future is a strong motivator for people. We've shown articles that disagree; several people said that it wouldn't personally be a motivater for them. If it's a motivator for you, go for it. -- David Starner - dstarner98@aasaa.ofe.org Pointless website: http://dvdeug.dhis.org "I don't care if Bill personally has my name and reads my email and laughs at me. In fact, I'd be rather honored." - Joseph_Greg