Calling all open source developers

[Richmond Mathewson]

David Bovill wrote:

< snipped out a large section >
>
> I hope that is entertaining enough Richmond?
> _______________________________________________
>
>   
Humpf! I would have chosen another word, rather than 'entertaining'.

As has been mentioned previously, it won't stop somebody pinching
something if they want to.

A little bird told me that certain large computer software
companies (cough, cough), knowing that their highly paid lawyers can
trample all over people, have been gaily pinching small people's
ideas for donkey's ages and rolling them out as their own.

Ultimately, the whole thing doesn't really come down to legalese,
but whether people are honest or not.

Living as I do in a country where the computers run on a 99% Windows
installed base, and where about 90% of that is pirate, and cheating is
virtually institutionalised, I have found the current discussion
vaguely interesting from a philosophical point of view. But as a
serious discussion about the real world it seems a bit silly.

I have introduced about 50 children to RunRev over the last 5 years;
until the advent of revMedia 4 I had to explain to them that I would
NOT give them personal copies of RR, complete with licence
numbers for nothing: I think it would be fair to say that all of them
thought I was bonkers.

Don't reply by telling me that Bulgaria is "a special case" because it
isn't; it is representative of a very large section of the world; a section
with which, sooner or later, all of you who live in the 'West' (i.e. where
software piracy only really happens on a personal basis) will have to
engane with.

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I am also sure that not very many of the RunRev community wish to
see the setting up of some sort of totalitarian snooping organisation
(although they are trying their damnedest in Britain) to check
everyone's PC on a daily basis for "naughty" stuff. So there has to
be another way to stop piracy.

One of the ways is Open Source. The only problem about that is
how the programmer os going to fill his/her fridge.

Personally I rather like the 'Freemium' concept, and intend to
release my 'Sanskrit Typewriter' in that way:

1. A web-based system that is FREE, and is capable of encoding
    Classical Sanskrit without restrictions.

2. A standalone that COSTS MONEY, that has all the capabilities
    of the FREE version and an extremely sophisticated set of
    routines for coping with all the ramifications of Devanagari
    script semi-automatically.

In theory, at least, this should reduce piracy of the end product,
as the free version will be capable of doing anything that the
"casual Sanskrit hobbyist" (err . . . work that one out) will need.

I will keep the code tightly against my chest!