Why a good platform can't be free

I sure am having fun thinking about OpenConsole, i.e., a Linux based
set top box that plays in the same space as Microsoft and Sony and
Nintendo, but is really an evolution of the Home Theater PC (HTPC) into
gaming, but all using open licensing so you don't have to pay the big
boys to write applications for this platform. The underlying
technologies are pretty cool as I play with adding OpenGL graphics to
the qemu emulator. But the business side of it is interesting as well.

In
particular, my thoughts turned to multimedia support on open platforms.
This is where the insistence on Linux being free is really biting the
hand that feeds you. Not all good software can
be free. We do live in a world of patents and a lot of the key
technology that goes into a multimedia system is protected by patents
and require a license to legally distribution implementations of that
technology.

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