chrisw wrote:kranium wrote:chrisw wrote:
If giving away free versions makes brand loyalty and weakens the commercial strength and survivability of the opposition, then why not? Commercial programmers are in competition with each other not running a branch of the social services. Capitalistic dog eat dog world, ethics do not apply.
Hi Chris-
you have a point here,
but 'Capitalistic dog eat dog world, ethics do not apply'?
I get this image in my head of corrupt big business, capable, more than willing, and permitted to doing anything to succeed...a pretty scary thought.
Believe me, I know the feeling, the over-zealousness, the casting of ethic aside in an effort to acheive at any cost.
Norm
Well, the laws apply,
capitalism under law is not necessarily corrupt, nor doing 'anything', including illegal things, to succeed. We were talking simply about the 'ethics' of giving away free old versions.
OK. I think that the problem is NOT "corrupt" or "not corrupt". in fact all the capitalist countries have a regulation, some market laws and some limit... that they protect to the small of the big one
postcript: the problem is that internet and the software don't seem to be subject to the market laws, that is something that it was necessary to regulate in the market laws
I think that the problem is not wild capitalism or non capitalism.
In fact, all the capitalist countries have a market regulation, due to the taxes, taxes in the frontiers, sanctions and measured antimonopoly actions anti-competitive are impeded...
USA has the 1ª position in protecting to its companies of tactical abusive, usually happened in Asian countries. (where the manpower is exploited, working many hours, ok, in this case can accuse a programmer of to be exploited and to be undervalued to if same, to depreciate its work... ? XD. evidently the serious answer that like it is their work the one he/she can decide to give it... free)
Most of the governments prevents to multinational companies to alter the prices with the purpose of putting an end to the competition.
as example, in Spain, the company (enormous) PHONE in many occasions this company has wanted to alter the prices of phone and access cost to internet, to prevent that the emergent small company can prosper.
This in most of the cases is avoided by a regulation of the market, market laws and economy.
Now then, the PROBLEM is that internet and the sotfware at the moment don't have a correct regulation, perhaps be an education problem, but until all we understand that a software program is a product, a product been worth as cars, clothes, food, these products have a minimum cost and when somebody wants to sell those products he/she should pay some taxes and some tariffs.
In that way it is avoided that when surpluses exist some countries like Chinese, taiwan, brasil, Indian, they blindfold their products below the production cost, what would mean an economic disaster in the world economy, because a stability is needed in the companies.
Let us see, The action of putting a software program like completely gratuitous has the simple one and objective cash of annihilating all the enemies, evidently this is legal for that intenet allows the I traffic of products or programs without cost...
now then ethically it is quite doubtful, mainly for that Originally R left of gratuitous and free code source as fruit. (¡?)
it is a little strange that using software of free and gratuitous code, this it is modified and improved (evidently R is much better than fruit) but then be used as a arms without liberating the code. (in other words, the ethical failure happens in two different topics, so much in free code, like in gratuitous code)
This would be not well seen in any other market sector, fishermen, butchers, cattlemen, salespersons of cars, if a manager decides to give part of his products for that the desire enough with other sales, first serious accused of disloyal competition and perhaps... if those maneuvers would imply the lost of work positions, that company could have serious problems... (XD. there is not problem, I don't believe that nobody wants to break him the legs to V, but certainly if that same has made it in another market type, perhaps if... )
Evidently this situation is not so serious in this small world of the chess programming...
but something similar this happening in many products and programs, the tactics of gratuitous software this harming the creativity and the after-sales support.
it happens with versions free of programs and operating systems, microsoft and linux they represent the antithesis in tactical antimonopoly, although linux has some interesting foundations, it is not less certain than the after-sales support for the company it is not the appropriate one, likewise microsoft has also made irregularities that are considered illegal tactics,
remember when microsoft inserted the navigator explorer "completely free" in its operating systems...
the European community sanctioned difficultly to microsoft and they forced them to consider it an external product to the operating system for not conditioning the market.
Actualmente, la maniobra iniciada por R, es legal, pero en ningún otro mercado seria legal ni etica.
It is necessary an internet control and of the strictest software.
evidently this is a hobby, a small aquarium, but ... evidently some programmers passed to the history, but the important thing is the way and the style of being in the history...
tiger wrote:
that diversity has been killed by an anti-competitive action that, as legal as it is, is in my opinion unethical.
...not alone that, imagine the consequences to great scale if that attitude you will generalize... in all markets and all products... a lot of people would lose their works and their companies in many occident countries... in favor of the globalization and macro companies later... they can decide the market prices, the after-sales support and everything the rest, because there are no longer other alternatives...
I think that to half term it is a bad idea... for us.
bye, from Spain. Oliver.
... it´s very interesting... 
