# LANGUAGE translation of https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-world.html # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc. # This file is distributed under the same license as the original article. # FIRST AUTHOR , YEAR. # #, fuzzy msgid "" msgstr "" "Project-Id-Version: free-world.html\n" "POT-Creation-Date: 2021-10-01 10:56+0000\n" "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n" "Last-Translator: FULL NAME \n" "Language-Team: LANGUAGE \n" "Language: \n" "MIME-Version: 1.0\n" "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=CHARSET\n" "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n" #. type: Content of: msgid "" "Only the Free World Can Stand Up to Microsoft - GNU Project - Free Software " "Foundation" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h2> msgid "Only the Free World Can Stand Up to Microsoft" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><address> msgid "by Tom Hull" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "The reproduction and distribution cost of software is zero at the " "margin. This means that in theory it is no more expensive to produce " "software which can be freely distributed and used by everybody than it is to " "produce software for a limited clientele." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "The pricing of software bears no relationship to the cost of its " "development. The two factors that do matter are market size (which is " "limited by price and utility) and competition. Given a market for a software " "product, the maximum margin can be obtained by precluding or eliminating " "competition." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Software companies that are able to thwart competition attain pinnacles of " "power which are inconceivable in other industries. Partly this is due to " "the enormous cash flows that are possible in the absence of competition from " "products with nil reproduction costs, but largely it is due to the " "complexity of software itself, which allows dominant companies to design " "“standards” which exclude future competition." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "All niche markets for software rapidly evolve toward monopoly or an " "equilibrium where a small number of players tacitly agree not to mutually " "destroy their profits. (Established companies can defend their market share " "by reducing their prices to practically nothing, making price competition " "suicidal for newcomers.) However, there are cases of asymmetrical " "competition, where a large company with other sources of income can destroy " "a smaller company that depends on a single niche revenue stream." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Microsoft has a secure revenue stream based on its dominant position in " "personal computer operating systems software, and uses the power inherent in " "that position to favor its other business activities with its ability to " "dictate “standards” and to undermine competition, especially " "where power (as opposed to mere money) is at stake." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Capitalists invest in new software ventures with the hope of gaining a " "dominant position in a new niche market. There is essentially no new " "investment in existing niche markets, since it is impossible to compete with " "an established dominant player on the basis of lower costs and the possible " "gains of an uphill battle for a small share of a shrinking pie rarely " "justify the risks. In their wildest dreams these capitalists want nothing so " "much as to be just like Microsoft." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "The drive to restrain Microsoft under the rubric of antitrust law seems " "mostly to be the effort of companies who find their own power positions " "threatened by Microsoft's activities. They seek to make it harder for " "Microsoft to undermine their own businesses. However, they are fundamentally " "similar to Microsoft in that they don't question a world where technology " "companies working from private caches of intellectual property are able to " "control the use of that technology for their own best profit." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "In the market equation, demand is equal to, and in many ways the master of, " "production. Yet in the world we live in, production is highly organized and " "efficient and commands enormous financial resources and seductive powers of " "persuasion, while demand is fragmented, uninformed, and powerless. While " "consumers can still kill a product that they have no desire for, they are " "nearly powerless to direct or even influence the detailed designs of those " "products. For software products, consumers can only choose among a given " "set of alternatives, which are extremely complex, dauntingly impenetrable, " "and generally designed more for the company's anticompetitive purposes than " "for the user's tasks. (Even the old fashioned option of doing without is " "often impossible due to the intricate web of interdependencies as new " "hardware and software march in lock step into the future.)" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "The real “killer software” is free software: software that is " "free of intellectual property claims; that is published in source code form, " "so can be inspected, evaluated, fixed and enhanced by anyone with a mind to " "do so; that is freely distributed and can be installed on machines and used " "without limit. Free software is the software that kills the closed, " "nefarious software product industry. It is software that users can select " "intelligently, to do today's tasks, and which they can collaboratively build " "on to handle future needs. Free software is the one thing that not even " "Microsoft can compete with." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Still, there is one core problem: who pays for developing free software? The " "usual answer—which leads to all of the trouble above—is that " "investors pay for development, which they recover from their profits. The " "only real answer is that development costs must be paid for by users. The " "key point here is that what is paid for is not the distribution or use of " "the software, but its development, and that the development of free software " "implies that it can be used by anyone. I think there is a simple way to " "handle this: anyone who wants a piece of software developed or enhanced " "posts a “request-for-proposal,” including a sum that the " "requester is willing to contribute towards its development. Intermediary " "organizations can pool these requests, and interested parties can up the " "ante. Developers can then search through the current postings and bid on " "development work or work on spec. Developers can also post their own " "proposals, which users can then buy into." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Free software can be developed less expensively than closed software " "products. Even for well paid professional developers, fully underwritten by " "conscientious users, the cost of free software would be significantly less " "than the premiums now being paid for empire building. The quality would be " "better, especially in terms of fitness for use. Free distribution would " "ensure maximum exposure and choice: a free market based purely on utility " "and quality. The service component of software would also open up: anyone " "who wanted to could start from the same code, to learn, support, and " "teach. The best service providers would succeed." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Simple steps can get this movement underway: Form an initial organization to " "sort out the technical issues, suggest working arrangements, study the " "economics, hack out a legal framework, seed and coordinate the requests, and " "canvas for initial technology contributions (including the large body of " "currently available freeware), do some evangelical work. Urge large " "companies and organizations to budget a small fraction of their annual " "software outlays for proposals. Set up a review group for intellectual " "property issues, challenge dubious claims, and investigate the feasibility " "of buying and releasing rights to valid claims. Encourage the development " "of more local organizations—local to place, to industry, to niche, to " "taste—with the initial group breaking up or fading away: common " "methods and procedures, but no centralized control." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><ol><li> msgid "" "Let's call this organization, this whole framework, “The Free " "World.” It stands for free and open knowledge, free and open " "development, software that works for you. Take a stand. Make a " "contribution. You have nothing to lose but <kbd>CTL-ALT-DEL</kbd>." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Additional notes can be found at <a " "href=\"/philosophy/free-world-notes.html\"> " "gnu.org/philosophy/free-world-notes.html</a>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't have notes. #. type: Content of: <div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S NOTES*" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "Please send questions and comments regarding this specific page to Tom Hull " "<a href=\"mailto:ftwalk@contex.com\"><ftwalk@contex.com></a>." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a " "href=\"mailto:gnu@gnu.org\"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a " "href=\"/contact/\">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and " "other corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a " "href=\"mailto:webmasters@gnu.org\"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, #. replace it with the translation of these two: # #. We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality #. translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. #. Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard #. to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> # #. <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> # #. <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of #. our web pages, see <a #. href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations #. README</a>. #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "Please see the <a " "href=\"/server/standards/README.translations.html\">Translations README</a> " "for information on coordinating and contributing translations of this " "article." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "Copyright © 1997 Tom Hull" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "You may link to this document and/or redistribute it electronically." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't want credits. #. type: Content of: <div><div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S CREDITS*" msgstr "" #. timestamp start #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "Updated:" msgstr ""