rgubarenko

You're likely talking about desktop software and OS, because open-source and free dev platforms are successful. I myself, after being a .NET guru a couple of years now creating more and more stuff in PHP5 and node.js and I'm totally happy with them. But for OS yes, for average user those free ones really suck. I remember trying to setup XBMC on ZBox with Ubuntu - every single feature caused issues. To get proper sound I spent half of a day sitting with command line. After 2 days of fight, I gave up and installed Windows XP where I did not have to do anything - it just started working out f the box. So, for average user or for person that does not want to waste time with command line (like me) free OS is not an option. I need a complete product, not a DIY Lego parts.

Regarding requirement to sell through dealership ... This kinda "service proxy" (which can be easily eliminated but it's not) is a common problem in this economy. Same thing with real estate agents. Do we really need that RE agent for our house sale/purchase to go smooth? Why not just create one central official website where sellers and buyers can find each other and do all paperwork, money transfers, bidding and other stuff online according to strictly defined procedure? I don't see any technical difficulty here.

Many people including me were skeptical about Tesla when it just came out. I'm surprised it became that popular at that price. On one hand it's good, because means that people are ready to pay more for technology and innovation.