There is plenty of room for businesses based around open source software and for business based on the model you have described (which I believe is generally called shareware). I agree that there is quite a lot of "unfinished half-ass" open source software out there; but there is also quite a lot [of open-source software] that is "cheap, well-programmed, useful software". The same can be said for non-open source software. -- JosephDale

Here is a partial listing of high-quality OpenSource (or free) software:

* ApacheHttpd
* LinuxOs
* BsdOs
* GnuCompilerCollection (GCC)
* Lots of other GNU tools
* GnuObjectModelingEnvironment (Gnome)
* KayDesktopEnvironment (OK, that's DualLicenseSoftware)
* XfreeEightySix
* MozillaBrowser
* KonquererBrowser
* GnuImageManipulationProgram (GIMP)
* OpenOffice
* PostgreSql (an RDBMS)
* MySql (another RDBMS)
* Many networking utilities (sendmail, bind)
* ApacheTomcat, JakartaAnt, and many other JakartaProject tools
* EclipseIde
* RubyLanguage
* PerlLanguage
* PythonLanguage
* BitTorrent
* EmacsEditor

This list could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on...  Note that all of the above are on terms that make either EricRaymond or RichardStallman (or both) happy; all are high-quality, stable, and robust programs.  Not a single one of them is "half-assed"

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Suggested ways to make money with open-source software:

* Enhance the software and sell the enhancements.  Note that this violates the terms of CopyLeft, but not of all open source licenses. ''It depends if you provide the source when you sell it. GPL says you must, BSD does not''
* Open-source business usually give the software away but try to SellTheDocumentation - i.e. If you know how to use the software, there is nothing to buy.
* Charge money for expertise in installing or maintaining the software.
* Sell training or setup assistance.
* Know and sell the '''solution''' of whatever problem the software solves. Many clients will gladly pay to have a problem solved for them. Those clients don't care how it gets solved.