SW Developers reaping MP rewards!

2004-12-07, 02:36

I can see a lot of software (SW) coders who make applications for multimedia appliances ripping the code of MP, since it is open source (OpS). So I expect to see alot of home theater systems (HTS) incorporate code/features from MPortal.

This of course is NOT a concern, but it made me think, have you guys thought of producing your own HTS hardware? You know, get some engineers together and make profit from hardware you develope software for.

Hey, you could even skip the engineers altogether and put it on cheaply built cube systems that you call an HTS's. Even make like a small MPortal OS version just for that!

Just a thought. Make the SW for free, but get some mula for the hardware you help co-develope! :idea:

2004-12-07, 07:15

Some people are doing just what you suggest. There is at least one company here in Australia selling an HTPC based on Linux/mythTV. I've heard he's not doing as well as he hoped.

I have had similar intentions having only had about 9 months employment in the last 2 years. I spent ages building a Gentoo based box before switching over to XP and MediaPortal.

The economics of Open Source software is that income is earned by way of service, not by locking people into a product they can't fix themselves and then screwing them over. Now I have to get to know MP inside/out and contribute something to the project.

However, starting a business is no small thing. I sold my house to fund the venture and so far I've done hundreds of hours research and spent a small fortune evaluating hardware but don't have a product. R&D is expensive and risky. There's more to it than just throwing a box together and sticking some software on it if you intend to support it afterwards.

2004-12-07, 08:15

SLim devices has taken this model and appear to be doing very well. would buy a hardware box in a heartbeat, hell I'd buy 3!!!

Of course in order to do this you would have to make MP more server/client based which would be a wonderful idea (this has been discussed in other threads.)

At any rate here here for the hardware boxes! Make some money for all your hard work, before someone takes you code and does it themselves

samedney · 2005-01-05, 12:35

Its possible to stay ahead of the game - even against the big boys - writing open source software, as MP is proving. If its all about having the best product and not about capitalism, then developing open source software is its own reward.

There are other benefits. The open source community is the first place many companies look when searching for talented programmers. I know I do!

I run a software company and we're thinking about opening up two of our exsiting (older) apps to the open source community, as a payment really - as recently, we have been using more and more open source software internally.

We first have to make sure we can make enough money without selling those apps to get by - but Im sure it will be good for our name to get it out there. We will also have other apps for sale, so the open source stuff might also lead to sales. (BTW, our software is of almost no use to the general public so this is not an advert!)

MrMario64 · 2005-01-05, 13:29

yes, I do have this idea.
But I cannot find the time yet.
MP has still somethings missing and when thats all done I will have a look again.

And about stealing our software.
People r not simply allowed to use our code.
They MUST make people know the code is from us.
The code MUST be open sourced,
and changes MUST be made available to us.

2004-12-07, 02:36	#1 (permalink)
Anonymous Guest Posts: n/a	SW Developers reaping MP rewards! I can see a lot of software (SW) coders who make applications for multimedia appliances ripping the code of MP, since it is open source (OpS). So I expect to see alot of home theater systems (HTS) incorporate code/features from MPortal. This of course is NOT a concern, but it made me think, have you guys thought of producing your own HTS hardware? You know, get some engineers together and make profit from hardware you develope software for. Hey, you could even skip the engineers altogether and put it on cheaply built cube systems that you call an HTS's. Even make like a small MPortal OS version just for that! Just a thought. Make the SW for free, but get some mula for the hardware you help co-develope! :idea:

2005-01-05, 13:29	#5 (permalink)
MrMario64 Retired Team Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Age: 34 Posts: 821 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	yes, I do have this idea. But I cannot find the time yet. MP has still somethings missing and when thats all done I will have a look again. And about stealing our software. People r not simply allowed to use our code. They MUST make people know the code is from us. The code MUST be open sourced, and changes MUST be made available to us. __________________

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2004-12-07, 07:15	#2 (permalink)
Anonymous Guest Posts: n/a	Some people are doing just what you suggest. There is at least one company here in Australia selling an HTPC based on Linux/mythTV. I've heard he's not doing as well as he hoped. I have had similar intentions having only had about 9 months employment in the last 2 years. I spent ages building a Gentoo based box before switching over to XP and MediaPortal. The economics of Open Source software is that income is earned by way of service, not by locking people into a product they can't fix themselves and then screwing them over. Now I have to get to know MP inside/out and contribute something to the project. However, starting a business is no small thing. I sold my house to fund the venture and so far I've done hundreds of hours research and spent a small fortune evaluating hardware but don't have a product. R&D is expensive and risky. There's more to it than just throwing a box together and sticking some software on it if you intend to support it afterwards.

2004-12-07, 08:15	#3 (permalink)
Anonymous Guest Posts: n/a	SLim devices has taken this model and appear to be doing very well. would buy a hardware box in a heartbeat, hell I'd buy 3!!! Of course in order to do this you would have to make MP more server/client based which would be a wonderful idea (this has been discussed in other threads.) At any rate here here for the hardware boxes! Make some money for all your hard work, before someone takes you code and does it themselves

2005-01-05, 12:35	#4 (permalink)
samedney Portal Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 36 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Its possible to stay ahead of the game - even against the big boys - writing open source software, as MP is proving. If its all about having the best product and not about capitalism, then developing open source software is its own reward. There are other benefits. The open source community is the first place many companies look when searching for talented programmers. I know I do! I run a software company and we're thinking about opening up two of our exsiting (older) apps to the open source community, as a payment really - as recently, we have been using more and more open source software internally. We first have to make sure we can make enough money without selling those apps to get by - but Im sure it will be good for our name to get it out there. We will also have other apps for sale, so the open source stuff might also lead to sales. (BTW, our software is of almost no use to the general public so this is not an advert!)