Oh, you should tell that to id software. They made code of popular games like Doom and Quake open source. I guess they get no money.
ID software did not start out doing that. They do that now that they've had flagship games and made hundreds of millions.
It is even easier for online games: everything can be open source, but somebody needs to run server. The original developers will likely know how to do it in the best way.
You're saying this entirely on faith.
Do not talk about things you do not understand, OK? There are many companies with market cap measured in billions who offer free software.
I was involved with the free software community and a user of Redhat since before Redhat went public. I know how difficult it was and still is, and you're triviliazing it to make it seem like it's not a miracle what they pulled off.
Not only did they pull off the impossible but I don't think many companies have been able to duplicate it. Many other Linux distributions have failed. Redhat also is not anywhere near as rich as Microsoft or Apple. Do you really think Devcoin is going to fund the next Redhat?
They do, you just have no idea how it works. I work for a software startup, FYI, and I know a bit or two about this.
It's the free software movement because it empowers the user. Programmers who follow this philosophy do so becaue they wish to empower the user. Sometimes empowering the user does not get you nearly as much money as you'd get if you went the Apple or Microsoft route of locking people into your formats, or the route of trying to turn the computer into some sort of interactive Internet TV type box. If you empower users sometimes you'll never get rich or never make a profit at all, I've seen it happen that far more often than I've seen a Redhat miracle or Google miracle.
If you work for a startup which empowers the user then I wish only for the success of your startup. Maybe it could be the next Redhat or Google but I doubt it.