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Write some software, give it away for free

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Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#201

Post by rikroots »

I give my side projects away for free because I have a $job to pay for the roof over my head, food, etc. and don't feel the need to make more money from my hobby work.

I create my side projects in the first place because I like to prove to myself that it is possible to do mad stuff in the browser - like a screen recorder with canvas composition, teleprompter, live annotations and talking-head overlay[1]. Or an SVG-inspired image filter builder for local batch application to images (still a WIP but almost there)[2].

It doesn't cost me any money to host the results, so: why not?

[1] - https://kaliedarik.github.io/sc-screen-recorder/

[2] - https://kaliedarik.github.io/sc-filter-builder/

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#202

Post by krupan »

advael wrote: post #36

A lot of comments can't help but mention the constant looming threat of potentially permanent destitution that pervades our society. It's increasingly hard to understand the position of people who think that this is a feature, excepting of course those very few with the resources to use that pressure rather than be driven by it

I'm not sure what you mean by "permanent destitution" but certainly life is full of struggles. It's not just a feature of our society, but of the universe itself. Without struggle and pain there is no life. Fighting entropy is a constant battle. The good news is, life has been winning the battle for many millions of years.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#203

Post by Grumbledour »

gtsop wrote: post #150
nixpulvis wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think about this a lot. In some ways software is really fundamentally different from things like baking or plumbing. Many bakers love the craft but nobody expects free baked good (except maybe their family). Many plumbers are true craftsmen and take pride helping solve peoples problems, but we don't expect free plumbing. On the other hand, once you write the code, the logic is complete, its closeness to an equation…

> In some ways software is really fundamentally different from things like baking or plumbing You were onto something with this but then got sidetracked. The fundamental difference is that software (digital product) is cannot be given away and cannot be consumed, it can only be copied. Any other non-digital product, a bread loaf, a pipe, for someone else to use it, you have to give it away. You must not own the bread…

I don't think it is this novel anymore though. Which easier and cheaper distribution, the same thing is starting to apply to other creative endeveours like music, art, or writing, where the costs of publishing start to get negligible, while there is an ever growing base of creatives who want to ofer their work to an audience. And maybe we should treat Open Source more like other art forms, where you get patronage, or get small payments per download like in the shareware model.

While I find speculating about different models besides capitalism a good exercise, I also don't think these things are wholy incompatible with our current societal structure.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#204

Post by i_think_so »

imhoguy wrote: post #197
rvz wrote: post #103

This is the reason why developers here are upset about AI. You can't have it both ways and 'open source' is now weaponized against them. AI will consume OSS software and anyone will be able to clone your closed-source app for free and open source it for 'the community' to avoid paying $1 to maintain it. One thing that is not free is hosting.

An one thing which isn't free is AI. Try to maintain moderately complex app with AI and not spend $ on tokens or GPUs.

We really really need a high quality coding assistant that runs in 4GB of VRAM. It doesn't have to be the best, and it doesn't need to be able to handle more than say 2 languages at a time, like C and whatever. That would open up the field to a whole new demographic of potential coders, which is what the industry desperately needs right now.

...because right now no one is hiring _anybody_ who isn't a super duper senior 100x dev. The whole world of tech is facing a generational collapse. We need to pull a rabbit out of hat soon or we're all screwed.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#206

Post by Grumbledour »

gt0 wrote: post #54

If I was going to write something for free, it would some weird itch-scratching thing for Plan 9 or something, it wouldn't be something most people would ever want. Realistically though, I'm not going to build software for free any more than I'm going to tidy someone's garden for free. FOSS has delivered some great software, it's also demonetised a lot of areas where software developers could be earning a living. I d…

> Realistically though, I'm not going to build software for free any more than I'm going to tidy someone's garden for free.

I think the better analogy here would be to tidy the public park for free. It's about doing something for other people, being generous, making the world better with your genrousity. I think that in itself is something worthwile to try.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#207

Post by jonathanstrange »

ianhxu wrote: post #185

This is a wonderful ideal. Like some ancient scientists and philosophers, they don't have many worries about money and can pursue pure passion. This also seems like a key source of social progress -- diverse purposes and paths of exploration.

I'm always interested in how they pay their bills. Unless I know how they make a living, the advice is worthless. Of course, you can give away things for free if you're a rich aristocrat in a society of slave holders, like many ancient philosophers were.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#208

Post by rglullis »

> Most projects don't need a team of 3+ engineers, they should stay hobby projects.

The problem is the inverse. I want to make a living by working on Free/Libre software, but the users who stand the most to benefit from it won't open up their wallets because they think there will always be some other magic fairy hobbyist hacker who will put up with their gritty work and give it all for free.

I think we collectively get stuck in this false dichotomy: either we have only hobby/artisinal/grain fed/community-owned activities done by people out of love and we have to accept (expect, even) inferior-quality products due to the limited resources, or we submit to big corporations for everything we can not compromise and need the latest/most powerful/shiniest product that money can buy.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#209

Post by andyjohnson0 »

jaapz wrote: post #153
SerCe wrote: post #37

Or don't. I've done both, published OSS projects and sold some software. The level of entitlement in some comments I received on the OSS side was pretty crazy at times. While with the paid software, all of the interactions I had were so much more constructive. YMMV, but willingness to pay is a great filter.

A TV-presenter of a fairly popular TV-show with an audience in my country once told an anecdote that they wanted the admission for the audience to be free. But when the tickets were free, a lot less people showed up. When they changed the ticket to be the quite arbitrary amount of 7 EUR, suddenly the theater was full every time.

Anecdote:

A long time ago I was helping a friend with her hand-made candles stall at a craft fair. A particular thpe of candle wasn't selling - so we talked about it and she reduced the price of each candle. But they still weren't selling. So we talked about it some more, and she priced them at 3x the original price. They all sold.

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