[apt4ssx8] Re: Contact with NASA Today
- From: Matt Shaver <matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: apt4ssx8@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:21:41 -0500
On Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:23:17 -0700
Brent Muller <bmuller@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Tuesday 29 January 2013, Matt Shaver wrote:
> > **********************************************************
> > If NASA were to release the source code of APTSSX8, it would help my
> > existing US business because ____________________________________.
> > **********************************************************
> >
> The "US" portion of that is problematic- I can't think of any way
> that it isn't helping everybody, not just the US.
It's actually OK to help everybody! It just can't help a non-US firm at
the expense of a US one. The need to justify releasing this software in
this way is the result of laws passed with the intention of protecting
existing US businesses. Of course, this completely ignores the benefits
to US businesses that don't exist yet, but would be brought into
existence if the software were available. Taking myself as an example,
I make my entire living now by consulting on EMC/linuxcnc. If that
software didn't exist, my job wouldn't exist. I don't think the
powers-that-be have considered this type of situation.
> I wonder if we said that there was a possibility that US businesses
> could benefit by re-folding our code back into their commercial
> products.
Or using, and contributing to, the open source project itself. For
example, a CNC machine tool company could distribute and support
APT360+VAPT (and their eventual successors) as their default machine
programming tools. Customers who already have programming tools are not
likely to change what already works for them, and new customers who have
nothing can get started with free software and low cost consulting. By
providing the initial programming environment to their customers at no
cost or low cost allows the customer to spend more with the machine
vendor due to their savings.
Thanks,
Matt
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