www/philosophy free-world.html

[Joakim Olsson]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Joakim Olsson <jocke>   07/08/19 21:43:03

Modified files:
        philosophy     : free-world.html 

Log message:
        Fixed invalid HTML.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/free-world.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.6&r2=1.7

Patches:
Index: free-world.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/free-world.html,v
retrieving revision 1.6
retrieving revision 1.7
diff -u -b -r1.6 -r1.7
--- free-world.html     19 Jun 2007 00:03:01 -0000      1.6
+++ free-world.html     19 Aug 2007 21:42:48 -0000      1.7
@@ -17,13 +17,11 @@
 expensive to produce software which can be freely distributed and
 used by everybody than it is to produce software for a limited
 clientele.</li>
-<br />
 <li>The pricing of software bears no relationship to the cost of its
 development. The two factors that do matter are market size (which
 is limited by price and utility) and competition. Given a market
 for a software product, the maximum margin can be obtained by
 precluding or eliminating competition.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Software companies that are able to thwart competition attain
 pinnacles of power which are inconceivable in other industries.
 Partly this is due to the enormous cash flows that are possible in the
@@ -31,7 +29,6 @@
 largely it is due to the complexity of software itself, which allows
 dominant companies to design &ldquo;standards&rdquo; which exclude
 future competition.</li>
-<br />
 <li>All niche markets for software rapidly evolve toward monopoly or
 an equilibrium where a small number of players tacitly agree not
 to mutually destroy their profits. (Established companies can
@@ -40,14 +37,12 @@
 there are cases of asymetrical competition, where a large company
 with other sources of income can destroy a smaller company that
 depends on a single niche revenue stream.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Microsoft has a secure revenue stream based on its dominant
 position in personal computer operating systems software, and uses the
 power inherent in that position to favor its other business activities
 with its ability to dictate &ldquo;standards&rdquo; and to undermine
 competition, especially where power (as opposed to mere money) is at
 stake.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Capitalists invest in new software ventures with the hope of
 gaining a dominant position in a new niche market. There is 
 essentially no new investment in existing niche markets, since it
@@ -56,7 +51,6 @@
 battle for a small share of a shrinking pie rarely justify the
 risks. In their wildest dreams these capitalists want nothing so
 much as to be just like Microsoft.</li>
-<br />
 <li>The drive to restrain Microsoft under the rubric of antitrust law
 seems mostly to be the effort of companies who find their own power
 positions threatened by Microsoft's activities. They seek to make
@@ -65,7 +59,6 @@
 question a world where technology companies working from private
 caches of intellectual property are able to control the use of that
 technology for their own best profit.</li>
-<br />
 <li>In the market equation, demand is equal to, and in many ways the
 master of, production. Yet in the world we live in, production is
 highly organized and efficient and commands enormous financial
@@ -80,7 +73,7 @@
 without is often impossible due to the intricate web of
 interdependencies as new hardware and software march in lock step into
 the future.)</li>
-<br />
+<ol>
 <li>The real &ldquo;killer software&rdquo; is free software: software
 that is free of intellectual property claims; that is published in
 source code form, so can be inspected, evaluated, fixed and enhanced
@@ -91,7 +84,6 @@
 today's tasks, and which they can collaboratively build on to handle
 future needs. Free software is the one thing that not even Microsoft
 can compete with.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Still, there is one core problem: who pays for developing free
 software? The usual answer &mdash; which leads to all of the trouble
 above &mdash; is that investors pay for development, which they
@@ -107,7 +99,6 @@
 the ante. Developers can then search through the current postings and
 bid on development work or work on spec. Developers can also post
 their own proposals, which users can then buy into.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Free software can be developed less expensively than closed
 software products. Even for well paid professional developers,
 fully underwritten by conscientious users, the cost of free
@@ -119,7 +110,6 @@
 open up: anyone who wanted to could start from the same code, to
 learn, support, and teach. The best service providers would
 succeed.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Simple steps can get this movement underway: Form an initial
 organization to sort out the technical issues, suggest working
 arrangements, study the economics, hack out a legal framework, seed
@@ -134,7 +124,6 @@
 industry, to niche, to taste &mdash; with the initial group breaking
 up or fading away: common methods and procedures, but no centralized
 control.</li>
-<br />
 <li>Let's call this organization, this whole framework, &ldquo;The
 Free World.&rdquo; It stands for free and open knowledge, free and
 open development, software that works for you. Take a stand. Make a
@@ -181,7 +170,7 @@
 <p>
 Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2007/06/19 00:03:01 $
+$Date: 2007/08/19 21:42:48 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>