Going Broke on Free Software

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1833612,00.asp

Opinion: Open-source developers are facing hard times both because the money that flows through open-source often isn't reaching their wallets and because not enough people are paying even the nominal amounts requested by open-source vendors.

"Free software is not a good way to make money."

No, I'm not quoting an analyst with an ax to grind against free software. Nor am I citing a reporter who doesn't understand the first thing about open-source business models. I'm reporting what a major open-source developer told me recently.

But, open-source is a software development model, or if you prefer, an intellectual freedom approach. It is not a business model.

So one of the keys is you shouldn't confuse technical expertise with business savvy. This is the same pit that many of the dot-coms fell into in the great dot-com crash.