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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: Name changes to X Applications?
From:       "Robert A. Crawford" <crawford () kloognome ! com>
Date:       1999-11-08 13:45:59
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On Sun, Nov 07, 1999 at 05:24:37PM -0500, Erich Forler wrote:
> I agree but there's a difference between when a single developer
> releases code and when a company releases code for a product. When the
> most respected developer releases code his/her reputation is on the line
> which has a high value but when a company releases code under its name
> it puts the value of its name and brand behind that code. That value can
> translate into millions of dollars. The more recognizable the company,
> the greater the risk in releasing code early.

	What value would you place on Linus Torvald's reputation?
IMHO, it's worth _more_ than RedHat's, Corel's, SuSe's, and all
the other Linux distrubtors _combined_, since they're all planning on
making money off (in part) his reputation. And yet, Linus doesn't just
"release early and often", he gets grouchy when people don't feed him
frequent updates -- see his recent comments towards the ISDN coders and
Donald Becker.

	The reality is that early, frequent releases help keep a
product on track and help improve its quality. Yes, it may give
competition a warning about what features you're developing, but
so what? Under the free software model, you're not selling unique,
single-sourced code; you're selling packaging and support.

-- 
						crawford@iac.net
"DON'T answer messages that make you feel uncomfortable because
they seem improper, indecent or threatening. TELL A GROWN-UP 
RIGHT AWAY."			-- US DOJ

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