QUOTE(Palindromes @ Mar 25 2020, 05:01 PM)
So my story went back to 22 years ago.......that time during college study, I created a lot of freeware, most are published together with source code.
Then one day I published a .ICO viewer /extracter DOS-based program, a Mat Salleh told me that he didn't expect that to be freeware, because of the higher complexity of source code..... It enlightened me for the first time in my life.... I realize that there is something should not be given away for free!
.......
Until now, people encouraging open-source, so again I created some console app and go open-source.....not making any profit out of it.....
So, my question is, how is some able to promote open-source, while some is able to make profit from selling app... ?
Is profitable app shouldn't be open-source?
Open source is actually a philosophy, not just a commercialisation model.
The idea for open source is basically the same idea behind patents. Last time a lot of inventors kept their blueprints/ideas secret. When the inventor died, no one knew how to build/maintain the technology. So patents were introduced so that the inventor has a commercial incentive to document their invention and after a period of time that knowledge becomes open to society.
Open source operates on that same principle. Share the source code so that the software can continue to be maintained or upgraded as technology advances. Farmers faced this issue with their tractors that had software to help run it. The company no longer supported certain versions of the hardware/software and required the farmers to pay for a hefty upgrade. Luckily got an open-source community that helped provide a solution to their problems.
So to say an open-source app shouldn't be profitable is of course wrong. It is just requires a different business model.