@gunrunnerjohn posted:Maybe Mark could actually get compensated for figuring all of this out and writing the program.
I agree, but some people write code as a hobby and just enjoy the challenge. I've made contributions to a couple of open source projects over the years, and once wrote a application to read the data from a RadioShack multi-meter and then open-sourced the code. One of the advantages of this, is that you can collaborate with others and they can contribute back to achieve more than one person could alone.
I've seen some people put up a PayPal "donate" link on their site and sometimes do quite well. I've also donated to a few others' projects. I would encourage Mark to do the same, I would definitely donate.
I'm actually more likely to donate to projects like this than I am to purchase commercial software because in the commercial world, the desires of the investors often drive the project to make decisions that abandon customers. With the open-source model, someone else can continue on the work if the originator decides to do something different. Investors and private companies are free to do as they desire of course, but customers are also free to spend their money elsewhere - or not spend it at all. That's not to say I'm opposed entirely to commercial software. When I find the software overwhelmingly useful and a good value, I buy it. Like SCARM for instance, a pretty excellent value IMHO.
