[OT] partialy I was wondering what suggestions forprograming

[Brian Kelsay]

Open Source comes from several directions.  
1: from academia.  Already supported in whole/part by government agencies or businesses wanting 
cheap research.  Grants are given to students and professors to solve a problem or figure out a way 
to solve a problem.   I may also have written a cool new mail reader for a school project that 
reads mail in some new and exciting way.  I got an A and so I post the program on the net.  Later I 
may get a job because some company now uses my cool mailer or an employee uses it and says "hire 
that guy, he has mad skills."

2. from business.  Businesses solve a problem on the road to solving another problem.  They do some 
custom programming (a la Xerox PARC creating networking and GUI on the way to selling more 
copiers), but that is not their primary business, so they release it under the GPL and users 
support it and someone eventually picks up the devel. or it dies and gets replaced with a similar 
or better product.  A business may also need an existing GPL product to be just a little better or 
add some function (a mail reader ;-)) for it to fit some need.  So they pay a programmer to add 
said functionality  and give it to the project or they send some ducats to the GPL project leader, 
earmarked for devel. of said function.  He gets to eat and the program grows in user base and 
function.  Again that function was needed by the business, but had nothing to do with their primary 
business of making widgets.

3  Just for Fun (scratching an itch).  I wish I had a program to do X.  I program it, internet 
users help me find bugs I give it away.  I may make money from company A, see above for custom 
coding, I may refuse said work (this is just a hobby and I have no extra time to add a mail reader) 
or turn it over to a co-developer.

4. some other way that is actually included vaguely in the above or some other way I didn't think 
of.

Open source puts everyone on a relatively even keel.  What I was referring to w/ NAFTA is the 
foreign truck driver, allowed to drive across the border with out the same rules applying to his 
licensing, training, safety inspections of his equip, heck, even his ability to read street signs.  
Eventually, as others have said, the foreign persons will wise up and ask for more money and the 
benefit of off-shoring will go away.   
I'm all for getting a product at a cheaper price, IF quality and longevity of the product does not 
suffer.   We'll see how if Sprint's customer service tanks or if the off shored helpdesk fails to 
serve.   

Eventually there may be a very fair (to business and to workers) free market.  It is obvious that 
is not currently so.  Child labor continues, women are forced to work in poor conditions (sewing in 
poor lighting, getting raped by the manager, separation from family when forced to live in company 
housing), all are under paid and under fed.   When this is addressed as well as the remaining 
slavery in the world, come back and talk to me.

Oh, and just because I disagree with some business practices, doesn't mean I want to be my own HR 
dept, accountant, etc.  If I  perform a valid, valuable service to my company, in a timely, cost 
efficient manner, I don't believe it is fair for them to go behind my back to bid out the job.  I'm 
probably not saying that right, but you may get my meaning.  I am not given the chance to prove (w/ 
numbers) my value to the company and its bottomline before the rug is pulled out from under me.   
Just get a pink slip and "Oh, the (insert country)outsource companyX says it can do the job cheaper 
and better from far away and it helps my 4th Qtr earnings report this year, so we're going to try 
it.
/rant

Brian Kelsay

>>> Garrett Goebel <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
> Brian Kelsay
> As for NAFTA, we let em do it to us.   Everyone thought the 
> labor unions were crazy.

<rant>

So open source code is okay, but open markets and trade are not?

We can sit on our hands and blame someone else for the worlds problems. Or we can "service" 
ourselves and do something about it. In open source
projects, talk is cheap. Show me the code. Do something. Don't complain from the sidelines. Beat 
them at their own game by showing them how it should be done and/or redefining the rules of the 
game. Actions speak louder than words.

<snip>
Those that never try, give up, or simply aren't willing to shoulder the
tedious mass of tiny little details which comes with taking responsibility
for one's self, should should be willing to accept the risk of losing any
job they're given.

</rant>m