Open Source or Money maker ?

The BIG question. Someone posed a 'why'd you indie code' recently - not the exact post but that was my interpretation.

Do you:

polish your application so it is 'sell - able' and make some moo-lah ?

OR -

take the OPEN SOURCE root where you refine your 'developed' code for public consumption for the better good ? ( or for someone else to take your un -patented intellectual property and make money from it ? )

I think we're all living in a interesting and turbulent time and if i took the open source route to the education toolthat I've developed - How can I ensure that it is notexploited ? Or do I have to accept this as an inevitableconsequence of open source ?

Funny old world, but I try to subscribe to the 'some money' might come from my labours route.

I like pizza and beer.
Pizza and beer cost money.
I don't have much money, but I know how to program.
Shareware programs can make money.
Therefore I program to for-fill my requirements for pizza and beer.

Depends...

I'm working on a project right now that I'll see about making money out of, but all of the editors for it and various external components I've been working on for a while will be / are free.

Speaking of free, I just learned that somebody is actually using my web plugin system with DarkBasic!
Yay! I had no idea it actually worked :P

BlitzPlotter:
If you're worried about your software being exploited, I suggest you look around at various free software licenses like the GNU Public License or the Mozilla Public License.
Also, it doesn't hurt to keep the source close to your chest; a good plan is to require people directly contact you if they want it.

As people pay me to write apps for them, I fall in the money maker category.

Currently in my spare time I'm writting an app to hopefully sell, so again, money maker :)

I have bills to pay, so I have to make money.

I think, if I had somthing finished enough that could be polished into a "comercial" product, I would probably still polish it, even if I went the OS route.

It depends, sometime you can get fame and attention by opening source (and you don't have to open all)

With fame sometimes comes the money, and you get both.

Money Maker.

If you want to waste your time making other people rich, get a day job.