Linux World domination (was Re: [NCLUG] PC for Linux (Ubuntu))

[Sean Reifschneider]

John L. Bass wrote:
> When there are no longer jobs for people to write software, there will
> be less demand for formal training in writing software, and with it the
> pool of those writing software will become small.

I'm going to call this just speculation unless you can provide some
examples that back this up.  Because open source has had a *HUGE* positive
impact on my ability to program.  The traditional education environment
where you have to read books by experts and then get feedback on your
application of that knowledge by someone who may be excellent, or may be
terrible, but is local, does not necessarily contribute to good
programmers.

Through open source, I had access to software written by some of the best
programmers on the planet when I was 14.  And I had the ability to interact
with them through making changes or improvements or releasing software for
others to use and provide feedback on.

I would also say that the kind of person who is attracted to programming
because they can make A LOT of money doesn't tend to be a very good
programmer.  The kind of person who is attracted to programming despite
only making a comfortable living tend to be the best programmers.
Passionate programmers are far better, in my experience, than the
programmers who are just there because it's their job.

So, I'd say it's far from certain that lower paying programming jobs would
result in lower quality programmers.

So, the question then comes down to whether open source or freed software
will really cause people to not have jobs.  Similarly to Paul, I feel
there's strong evidence that this is not the case, as I pay the bills
because of open source and freed software.  I don't see any evidence that
the GPL contributes to people not being able to get jobs writing software.

I can't think of a single example of someone I know who can't get a job
programming because of open source, but I can probably name hundreds of
people I know off the top of my head who have programming jobs *BECAUSE* of
open source.

Sean
-- 
Sean Reifschneider, Member of Technical Staff <jafo at tummy.com>
tummy.com, ltd. - Linux Consulting since 1995: Ask me about High Availability

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