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Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by borism on Friday October 16, 2009 @04:45PM (#886140)
let's rephrase that a bit:

What hobbyist can put 3-man years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and distribute for free for a living?

Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by whughes on Friday October 16, 2009 @10:59PM (#886555)
Your rephrasing doesn't make any sense. Bill Gates wants to convince people that hobbyism can't create good software, and he needs the money. Why should the audience (pirates) care about whether hobbyists make a living, as long as they get their software?
Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by borism on Saturday October 17, 2009 @03:46AM (#886752)
I was replying to a misconception that somehow today thousands of open source contributors can make a living by simply being that. That's not the case with 99% of open source developers I know.
Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by gxs on Friday October 16, 2009 @04:53PM (#886149)
That is exactly how I took it, and it stands today.
Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by MaysonL on Saturday October 17, 2009 @07:30PM (#887612)
One who sold his startup, or has a big enough 401K, and feels like changing the world instead of making more money.
Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by shpxnvz on Friday October 16, 2009 @09:38PM (#886499)
It's not a hobby if you intend to make a living.
Re:Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists by borism on Saturday October 17, 2009 @03:47AM (#886753)
You can make a living out of hobby. But that's not how most open source developers make a living.