One of the most common arguments against open source is that the programmers do not make money from it. That is really not true. If you are out to make money from programming in open source then it is quite possible to do so. Now putting aside the fact that most open source programmers are not doing it for the money, lets look at some ways an open source programmer can make money.
Lets start of first of all with a scenario. You have a large open source project that has many contributors. It is a very complex project and can not simply be installed and run. It needs a lot of configuration and customisation to suit the business using it. By selling service and support contracts to businesses that use that program you can make money from it. This can bring in a steady revenue stream. Quite a few large companies use this method. Redhat, HP, Oracle and IBM to name the most well known players.
By writing an open source program that runs a particular piece of hardware you can make money off of the sales of that hardware and get bug fixes and improvements from the open source community who use that hardware. This is leveraging off of the open source community and you are making money from your program. Graphic card and printer manufacturers are starting to do this.
Perhaps you don't even have any hardware. Your program is unique in some manner and becomes very popular. You maintain that program and retain control over what fixes or enhancements are put into it, which the open source community supplies. This could lead to offers from companies willing to pay for you to continue developing that program. Don't disbelieve because it has happened and still does.
In terms of fixes and enhancements some companies may approach you to include a particular enhancement or fix and they will be willing to pay for that service. Perhaps your open source program must interface with some proprietary programs for extra functionality. While your open source component can be free for all to download and use, your module bridging the open source and proprietary programs can be sold. Many companies use this model.
In another scenario your program can be open source but dual licensed. This means that for personal use or what ever other use you dictate, the program can be free but for commercial use the businesses must purchase a license to enable them to legally use the program. Quite a few companies also use this dual licensing model.
There is also the possibility of asking people to make donations. If they really like your program they will happily donate what they think the program is worth. The more popular your program becomes the more donations will happen. Another possibility that comes to mind is to come to an agreement with an advertising agency to include advertisements in your program. While your program is free you make revenue on the advertising stream. I have also seen that happen as well.
So you can see that there are several ways to make money off of your open source programming and by combining those methods, you can generate quite a good income or supplement your living with open source.
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Open Source - The model is broken!
Not my idea, this is Stuart Cohen saying this and he is CEO of the Open Source Develkopment Labs.
Check it out here
http://www.businessweek.com/print/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081130_...
Things might have to shift.....just a little.
Gary O'Connor.
By writing an open source
By writing an open source program that runs a particular piece of hardware you can make money off of the sales of that hardware and get bug fixes and improvements from the open source community who use that hardware. This is leveraging off of the open source community and you are making money from your program. Graphic card and printer manufacturers are starting to do this.
Not an objective viewpoint.
This was written by one who was on the side of microsoft during the Novell takeover. In that article he also contradicts himself by saying that the model is broken and that some companies have succeeded at it. He also said many companies failed but that is par for the course in business.
In his MySql example he painted that as a failure because he could not see sun making money off of it. The MySql programmers made money off of it which validates one of my methods I outlined in my article. In fact I had them in mind, as well as JBoss, when I wrote that method.
As with anything it depends on which viewpoint you wish to approach it from :)