Rakesh 'Arky' Ambati wrote:
After all, how do you motivate youngsters to go in for free software, when proprietary software tempts the best brains with mega-bucks? Nagarjuna reiterates, "If you choose to do it, it's for freedom, not because of economic reasons. The point I keep talking about is that we keep working and struggling to maintain freedom, even if it is expensive.Freedom is more valuable than just the `total cost of ownership'thatopensourcefollowers talk about. Our arguments, unlike those of the open source promoters, are not based on economics alone. Not even just technology. It's ethics and politics (of technology) that we are concerned about. Ours is a cultural movement."
Most people assume that using and promoting free software means giving up on economic gains. However it is not so. If you are a contributor to any Free Software, most employers count that as a positive sign. (On a side note: I have yet to see any good and *unemployed* free software hacker). The essay "The Virtual Referral: Mitigating Risk by Hiring Open Source Developers" http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/07/14/osdevelopers.html makes a strong case why employers should look at free software hackers as good bets when hiring.
I have never been an employer or run my own company, but from what I see Free Software provides another model for doing business. Most shrinkwrap software developers make money by licensing software. However, with free software you sell services - training, customization, audit etc.. You can sell free software too - it makes perfect sense to sell something which is cheaper, faster and better :-) .
The point I am trying to make is, Free software can be used to make economic gain.