Z:gnu-www-ja-free-world--8448f5-Still, there is one core probl/en

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 recover from their profits. The only real answer is that development costs must be paid for by users. The key point here is that what is paid for is not the distribution or use of the software, but its development, and that the development of free software implies that it can be used by anyone. I think there is a simple way to handle this: anyone who wants a piece of software developed or enhanced posts a &ldquo;request-for-proposal,&rdquo; including a sum that the requester is willing to contribute towards its development. Intermediary organizations can pool these requests, and interested parties can up 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.