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On Monday 11 October 2004 12:16, Neil Williams wrote:
Writing code does not cost any money.
Aieie. I am not an economist (although from time to time I read it.) It has been accepted by sufficient people of considerable smartness and whose world-models seem to work that the concept of "opportunity cost" is valid. Whatever you do incurs an opportunity cost - while you do it, even if only half your capacity is engaged, there are other things which you cannot be doing. If some of the latter would generate revenue, or increase surplus value, then in every accounting convention I know anything of the activity is reckoned as if it is costing money. Writing code is in theory more economical than Chess in that no clock is required and it can be done by one person (Chess, a game requiring a clock and two players. A board and pieces may optionally be used, and are found convenient by many) however it commonly implies a computer, and a roof, and a chair and in short _goods_, which each have capital and revenue consequences of their own - in short, they are reckoned by the common man (on the Clapham omnibus with his Palm Pilot) as costing money. I recommend Martin Fink's book, "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source" which I bought a while after hearing him speak at OSHCA's meeting in UCLA. Appendix C is the GPL, and he was, of course, Bruce Perens' boss for some time. It can be read, by arrangement, at any of my premises, I'm not letting it out of the building. One of the differences between political and philosophical movements is their view of arguments about theory in public. The latter see it as core business, the former as something between treachery to the cause and a a nuisance. -- Adrian Midgley Open Source software is better GP, Exeter http://www.defoam.net/ -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.