Do you think most things will be "open-source" someday?

Question

Linux is open-source, right? Why not have people/communities doing movies for free, writing books for free, singing music for free? Of course there are areas where this concept of "openess" can not be applied, because we need to earn a living somehow.

Answer 1

"open source" does not means "free"; by the way, there are people writing book "for free", as well as making movies and music. You should check for "creative commons" on Google (which is itself an example of how "free" software coould help you making alot of money...)

Answer 2

I agree with the socialism comment, although comparing it to socialism may be a bit extreme.



Open Source is an excellent idea and I, personally, look for open source programs to replace the programs I have paid for. I like the idea that the program was made by the users more than it was the owners, and thus making it better. This theory does not always line up with what really happens, but it is true enough that I give open source programs a try.



However, for certain things, such as imagery and graphics, there are programs that dominate the field because they are better. Overpriced programs, like Photoshop, are overpriced for that exact reason - they're better, people will buy it...



Now, to look into the future and guess upon whether or not open source will be the main thing...well, on that subject I really cannot say. There will always be open source and there will always be programs like Photoshop. Both sides will have ups and downs depending on many different factors. I guess we'll see have to wait around and see, wont we?

Answer 3

software industry is ahead of all other industries in terms of its open source philosophy. Remeber there was a time when man used to live in caves, and moved in tribes, humanity has evolved from that stage to a point where we talk about democracy. So we are in a constant state of evolution. Evolution moves in the best interest of the larger part of beings. If most of us decide that we want, or it is better to have things in a certain way, then a few individuals can not impose their ideas on the larger part.

Answer 4

There are those people. They're called 'college kids who want to get into the industry'. You need a portfolio to do that, and you obviously can't sell your amateur-hour stuff, so you release it for free.

Answer 5

No. There will never be world-wide "open source." The reason is simple. There are too many greedy people in the computer software business. They want payment for their work, and most often, overpriced payment at that.

Answer 6

no .. i think u will eventually be forced to pay for almost everything ... and i think pc hardware and operating systems will be designed to verify every application and media file and if u dont have the liscense for it it will not be allowed to run ...

Answer 7

It has been tried. Called socialism and it has never worked on a large scale anywhere!

Answer 8

You pass that bridge when you come to it.