Being a Little Tough on Leo? Methinks So.
I was reading this on Red Sweater Blog this morning and I can agree with the assessment, but I think he's being a little hard on Leo. I'm not sure Leo was advocating that everything for a computer be free, but there was a time that a lot of things were little "ditties" done by someone on their off-hours, and they simply posted it to the 'net and people liked it.
I did it. Lots did it.
It wasn't about making a buck, it was about having fun with the development environment, or the system, or the fun of seeing if it could be done. In the blog terms, it's Pure Charity.
Sure, it's not going to pay any bills, but that's what we did. For the Amiga, it was the Fish Disks - if you made it there, then you were living large. Seeing your code on an ftp site was a reason to be excited not upset. But those were the old days.
I don't disagree with Daniel's point. If you want something of quality, you should expect to pay for it. I do. I don't mind paying for good software, I like having good tools, and I let the people know that I like what they're doing, and when I'd like to see something a little different in the app. Totally agree.
But there was a time - and Leo and I remember it. That time may be gone now, and if it has, then OK. But don't slam the guy because he remembers the days when things were different. Hey, you may not have been around then, or even alive, but they were times, and often times we look at current events through the life experiences we've had. Nothing wrong with that.
Cut the man a break... he's not advocating the death of your industry, he might just be talking about days gone by.