OpenSource - whats the deal?

[cancer10]

Hi

I have been wondering what do they earn out of an opensource project? Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress. I know they are free and opensource but what do they get out of it?

They do it for just Fame or something else?


Would appreciate if someone can clarify me on this.

[Beagle]

If it solves a problem they have, they'll do it. There's no reason not to open it up. If someone else has the same problem they help with development. It just gets bigger from there, if it's useful.

[Spookster]

Not everybody gets into software development just for a paycheck. It's engineering and some people just enjoy doing that. They can also list these open source projects on resumes so that doesn't hurt either.

[cs_student]

Wikipedia is an amazing resource. Check out their article on Open Source Culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source#Society_and_culture).

Some people do it simply because they find it fun. To these people it's a hobby, or an itch they simply want to scratch.

Some people do it because it is something they need themselves.

Others do it for ethical reasons. Which is the idea behind the GPL && FSF.

Many do it for all three reasons.

[ShaneC]

And don't forget about revenue generated from open source projects such as ad revenue or charging for support. Many open source projects do this.

[primefalcon]

And don't forget about revenue generated from open source projects such as ad revenue or charging for support. Many open source projects do this.
Even Google operates that way, much of what they do is open source or based on open source, and they then use ads to generate ads, seems to be working for google

[Beagle]

No, google isn't open source supported by ads. Much of what they do is not open source. Their search engine, gmail, maps, google earth, etc. None of these are open source. Just because they may use open source tools does not make them open source. Just because they provide APIs so people can remix their services does not make them open source.

[primefalcon]

No, google isn't open source supported by ads. Much of what they do is not open source. Their search engine, gmail, maps, google earth, etc. None of these are open source. Just because they may use open source tools does not make them open source. Just because they provide APIs so people can remix their services does not make them open source.
re-read, I said much of what they do, ie not everything.... read chrome, read android, read wave, read the upcoming chromeOS or what about the webm codecs?

While Google don't open source their server tools (why the heck should they? I don't open source my website), they do manage a lot of open source projects, hence they are a strong open source company.

[primefalcon]

please tell me what is OpenSourge actually
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source