We were playing the other day with Alain Fortune from Criteo, Julienco & Clauer, with 2 websites: LikeBetter & MoreHotter.

Interesting concepts, but any monetization potential? Tell me what you think of it.

Many software developers I meet claim to be ‘free software guys’, who use open source integrated development environments and hack code in PHP, Java or Ruby exclusively, and possess Macs exclusively as well. I guess that’s a pretty well-identified profile in software development circles.

I respect their belief that open source and sharing and collaboration is an entertaining and exciting way to develop software. And actually I find there are good (innovation, quality & security pressure on existing players) and bad (constraint to new venture opportunities in the software industry) points about open source / free software (assuming there’s no difference, although there are). However, if their choice, as they claim it to be, often is a protest move against Microsoft and commercial software in general, then why the heck do they all have a Macintosh laptop? Apple to me is the epitome of a “closed environment”.

Finding, as I do, Mac hardware beautiful (although it has shortcomings like weight and heat) & Mac software really user friendly would be a good reason to use it. But claiming to protest again commercial software on the one hand , while on the other hand purchasing and using Macs is in my opinion totally ridiculous.

In fact, this situation of having open source-addicts use the closest platform from the most secretive computer company ever, is so paradoxical that I believe there’s something more gregarious than genuine about it. These people want to look “cool” - and that’s more important to them than being consistent with their ideas. Fine with me.