rawlinson – us

Software Satisfaction

Look, I’m a capitalist so don’t get me wrong here when I say I kind of like this open source software bit. No, I haven’t really written much, just a small plugin for my blog, but it is opensource and the experience with it so far has been pretty cool.

Now, being opensource, that means that I basically just give it away. That isn’t really a problem considering how trivial the bit of software was (and, in fact it is built on top of other open source projects) but, at least in this situation, not getting money for something isn’t so bad. In fact, just knowing that people are using, and are appreciative of, my creation makes me feel pretty good. I write software for a living so I didn’t figure I would really get such a kick out of it. But, I do – it’s sorta cool. The stuff I write for work is designed for, and sold to, very limited audiences. The average Bob or Sue won’t ever see or experience the stuff I create but this little plugin is available to anyone – and according to my referrer logs – a bunch of different people, from vastly different backgrounds, are it. That is just cool. It is neat having even a minimal impact on other peoples lives (and I mean very minimal) because of some code I wrote. I wonder if the feeling would be even greater if the software were more substantial? Who knows, maybe myLoot! will be a great opportunity for me to find out.

I don’t forsee myLoot! being opensource. But I do see it being free to use – and that is just about close enough for me. Who knows, maybe I will change my stance when I am overwhelmed with the amount of work involved with implementing myLoot! and the only way I can find assistance in getting it together is via an opensource initiative – but I hope that won’t be necessary. Heck, like I said – I’m a capitalist and feelings of goodwill won’t keep food in the cupboard!