Originally Posted by
njkayaker
No, it's different.
The open source effort isn't what gives Google or Facebook a competitive advantage.
It's a competitive equalizer.
It might save them money but it doesn't really make them money (it's other things that do that).
No, it really does make them money. IBM has spent a lot of money supporting Linux, which in turn helps them sell hardware to run Linux and software that runs on top of Linux. Google spends a lot of money on various projects (like Chromium and Android), which indirectly feeds its advertising business.
These are not altruistic ventures, they're doing it to make money.