Food for thought.....
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@Herve_Smith Thomas Sanladerer is not to the point: Open source is not a business model, but a means of building a community that contributes to the ideal goal. This, in turn, can evolve into the commercial base for selling - let's say - Duet hardware.
One of the selling points is the intense support by this forum - which itself is driven by the open source idea and introduces new ideas. All in all, it's a success story which proves the viability of open source.
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@infiniteloop, agreed!. The two things that sold me on Duet was the fact that it was open source and, more importantly, because of the support of this forum. The level of support is way beyond any normal commercial product. While the community does a lot of support, the core team does an incredible job in the support department and product development is ongoing.
I have specifically avoided any clone merchandise based on the Duet design even though the clones can be had for less. I am more than happy to support the originator and want to do my part of keeping the business viable. I want to see the software and hardware advance!
On a related note, I supported another open source project that was a battery charging system. It was an excellent product but the originator either sold or partnered with somebody that was not interested in open source. The project went closed source, the hardware cost increased by a substantial amount and as far as I recall, support went down the tube. I dropped it like a hot potatoe.
My biggest worry when using an open source project ... will it be around in a year down the road. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that a closed source project will be around a month from now either. -
@jens55 said in Food for thought.....:
My biggest worry when using an open source project ... will it be around in a year down the road. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that a closed source project will be around a month from now either.
With closed source, I must switch to another solution, sometimes without warning. With open source, I have the option to continue using it (by starting my own production or using clones).
