Devil's dollars drive open source

"Salesforce is reported to be in the market for DimDim, an open-source provider of web conferencing software.

"For those about to erupt into anguish over the prospects of another open-source company falling into the grip of a proprietary software company, save the tears.

"After all, it is one of the oft-ignored ironies of open-source software that it is largely dependent upon proprietary software profits to sustain and magnify its existence. At least, the more popular open-source projects are, whether commercial or community-led."

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