Is there a bright future for open software projects?

[Courageous]

>What companies like ActiveState.com or similar live on if they offer free software?

There are many companies, even ones with a predominately software business, that
actually don't sell packaged software, but instead sell software development
_services_. These companies are usually supportive of internal open source efforts,
because a successful open source project provides marketing material for selling
the company's services.

The downside is that, in companies like this, one has to be billable to a client
a great deal of the time. Clients usually have specific problems that they want
solved, and your open software effort is of no concern to them.

C//