07-10-2009, 08:34 AM
(07-09-2009, 09:56 PM)Lavazza Wrote: It's a very interesting time in the music and movie industry... and other industries. Old systems are breaking down and being replaced with newer, better ones. I was listening to a public radio spot yesterday about how Google is trailblazing the 'free' approach to software. Did you hear that they are developing a free operating system?
Meh, you should read that as "they're going to release a distribution of chrome that gets started by a linux kernel" which has been a free operating system for the last 20 years or so.
But this is a great example of how free works. The linux operating system including all software freely available with it has an estimated value of a couple of billion dollars in labor alone. The result works quite well and is freely available for everyone. There are many spin offs like this chrome OS is going to be. (Which will certainly find it's uses, just not on the desktop imho.) But it was also used for laptops for kids in developing countries.
I believe Trent Reznor (to get back to the NIN guy) actually released his music under a license where he basically allowed (and encouraged) users to do everything holy or unholy to his music as long as everyone is allowed to do everything to their results when they're done.