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> this is getting bogged down because of profit maximisation, reputation and patents

This gets worse when there's less competition, not better.

So do you think it makes sense for six to eight different automotive companies to conduct independent research instead of combining their research? In the end, you may have 2-3 good models, which are then either financed with high licence fees or patent penalties.

Sure, and that's why "teamwork" is being forced on students at educational institutions (at least in some states of Europe) :)

Yes, competition generally leads to more innovation and lower prices in industry. Do you know of any economist who thinks otherwise, except in specific cases where natural monopolies exist?

If there's no competition there's no incentive to innovate.

I often argued with business professors during my studies because the theories look good on paper but don't work in reality. If one company invents a new method and patents it, another company will not be able to improve on this method, but would rather try to get round the patent/license costs than really innovate. For me, that is not progress.

But if Linus thinks that bcachefs is stable enough for the kernel, then there must be something to it.

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