http://www.cosource.com/
http://www.sourcexchange.com/

Making money by writing Free and/or "Open Source" software?

Interesting ideas at the above sites.

I just hope that the GPL is used most frequently. But it's ultimately up the
individuals who code the software as to what "open source" license they use!
(but: (subliminal (message) GPL is best! ;^P) ... yup!)

I attended Brian's (Behlendorf's) talk on sourceXchange at USENIX (got the
Tshirt too, cool, thanks O'Reilly!). And bounced the idea of software insurance
off him. (it was hard to talk as so many ideas were being thrown out!) I'm glad
he was receptive to the idea! It's really a quite useful idea I think, and one
that can work very well in a free software development economic environment
IMHO.

But, as to the two above projects, just as long as coders and companies are more
than reassured that they will get something positive out of the whole deal, and
that the absolute minimum of "red tape" is thrown at them, then they will all be
receptive to the idea. Remember, keep the system as fluid as possible. Slap down
rigid codes of how and how not to conduct business at first could be a potential
killer, just go for the minimum of rigid "rules" at first, and perhaps allow
more than one "way" of allowing coders and sponsors to interact, perhaps at
their discretion... and see what happens...

You have to have a strong empathy for how the wily coder will feel about the
whole shebang, and also how the lone business (or collection of businesses, or
even collections of plain ol' users) who just want(s) a program that can do "X"
well will see it from their perspective. One needs a tremendous level of empathy
for both sides of the issue if a "broker" style of system of getting free
software coders paid is to work.

--Brock