Years of reporting on the software industry. Did you know that over 90 per cent (and that’s not just a made-up stat, I just don’t have the precise statistic to hand) of software is developed by companies whose primary business is not software? We have a tendency to think largely in terms of the stuff we use on our own computers but there is an awful lot of bespoke software out there as well as server stuff and vertical applications that are invisible to the majority of people.

I don’t think that most software is developed for free, no. And, in fact, I support the free software movement. All I am saying is that IBM’s motives (for example) in using GNU/Linux etc. are not altruistic. IBM makes money selling hardware and service contracts. Deprecating AIX and replacing it with an operating system that someone else has developed and costs them noting (other than minor porting costs) is an obvious business decision. But altruism it ain’t.

Best,
Jason.

I have to ask what you’re basing that on? Do you actually think all that software is created for free?