Do you think a talented developer could work full time on a platform like Deconet?
Yes, that's absolutely the vision for what Deconet is building. We think open source developers should be able to earn a living working from anywhere. Check out this article that explains the model. Also, David Sneider talks a bit about this in his deep dive video interview with Origin.
That is definitely the future of development. I really hope Deconet takes off. I see no reason for developers to be confined to any particular location. They should be able to work from anywhere and I believe that Deconet can make that happen.