What's The Linux Kernel Worth? 376
schneelocke writes "What's the value of the Linux kernel? After an offer by one Jeff V. Merkey to pay 50K USD for a BSD-licensed copy of Linux, David Wheeler does some calculations and comes up with an estimate of 612M USD." Wheeler has come up with a number of interesting software-worth estimates and other quantified facts about Free software; since some aspects involve ineffables and hypotheticals, the details can be argued, but he provides a good framework with SLOCCount.
ooooh (Score:5, Funny)
Who woulda thunk it.....
perhaps... (Score:5, Funny)
You just can't... (Score:5, Funny)
Obligatuary quote (Score:5, Funny)
Re: Nothing (Score:3, Funny)
> The end result is that the Linux kernel has no market value what so ever. The developers won't sell it at the market's price, and the market won't buy it at the developers price.
Yeah, I'm waiting for SCOX [yahoo.com] to come down off its high horse before I buy it, too.
Or was that Steff Murky? (Score:2, Funny)
Sure it wasn't Stef Murkey [userfriendly.org]?
I Thought This Was Already Established (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly it's $699.
Re:Mu (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You just can't... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You just can't... (Score:3, Funny)
Linux-based operating systems rarely sell for more than $50. And more often than not people just download it for free. Of course that's with GPL. Without GPL I'm sure it would be worth 600M or whatever. GPL seems to really devalue your software.
Re:Mu (Score:1, Funny)
Air becomes highly important just a Sex becomes highly important proportionally to the time of not getting any.
Re:You just can't... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Nothing (Score:3, Funny)
Sure there is. Just average the figures $50K and infinity and you get the market price: infinity dollars.
Heyyyyy, wait. a. minute.... (Score:2, Funny)
Are you implying that "Linux" is an actual marketable brand?!!! /. trolls keep telling me that only basement-dwelling loser troglodites use Linux!
All the
Re:Obligatuary quote (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Eh? (Score:3, Funny)
For everything else.. (Score:2, Funny)
Buying out the compitition 1,000,000,000
In court related costs 500,000,000
Lost revenue from pirates 200,000,000
Having to compete against a free alternative PRICELESS
There are some kernals you just cant buy, for everything else theres Master Card(TM)
Re:Nothing (Score:3, Funny)
SLOCcount (Score:1, Funny)
#include <stdio.h>
int
main(int argc, char **argv)
{
printf("Hello world!\n");
return 0;
}
Total Physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC) = 7
Schedule Estimate, Years (Months) = 0.04 (0.48)
Total Estimated Cost to Develop = $ 148
generated using David A. Wheeler's 'SLOCCount'
but i think he wouldn't want anyone to know in this case
Re:Nothing (Score:3, Funny)
Priceless is running it on your home computer, finding a bug, fixing it, and having Linus Torvalds tell you your patch is going in and millions of other people will see it in an hour.
Or better yet: finding a bug, reporting in on the kernel mailing list, and starting a gigantic flame war ;)