Re: [NTLK] SkyGuide and other downsides of closed source

From: Victor Rehorst (victor_at_newtontalk.net)
Date: Wed Jan 23 2002 - 21:17:59 EST

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On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, Sean Luke wrote:

> I can only think of two reasons why someone would release freeware in
> binary distribution only. (1) intellectual property concerns -- maybe
> they licensed something from someone in order to do the job, or maybe
> they have a secret patented feature, or have some other valid reason to
> not reveal algorithmic details. That's perfectly fine. (2) They're
> embarrassed about their code. Hey, I've written sucky code as well.

I can think of (3): They've lost the source to the ether, aka hard drive
failure.

There's also (4): It was written by Tactile. *ouch*

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