For the former question (percentage of revenue that comes from the US vs Internationall) you can usually find out from a companies financial filings. That said, that doesn't really say if the company is bringing foreign profits into the US. There is often significant financial disincentives in moving money into the US from , say, Dublin.
As to the open source helping/not maintaining, I would say that with a few exceptions, it doesn't matter. It helps bring revenue in for us based companies that best take advantage of the code, but at the same time, it helps level the playing field for other people/countries/companies entering the space, which might endanger entrenched interests.
This is a bigger question than HN is good for. I've thought of writing it up in a blog post, but I suspect most people would find it hugely boring. For instance, does the release of the ChromeOS source code enhance or detract from Google's (my employers) revenue.
If ChromeOS is successful it will help bind people closer to google, which is ostensibly good for us.
But...If we lose technological leadership in the project, does it matter? It will mean someone else has advanced the project and likely as not , brought more people onto the internet, where through our advertising skills we thrive.
Also, I don't think that you could call seach a commodity while there is qualitative differences between the different engines. But that's a much longer post...
As to the open source helping/not maintaining, I would say that with a few exceptions, it doesn't matter. It helps bring revenue in for us based companies that best take advantage of the code, but at the same time, it helps level the playing field for other people/countries/companies entering the space, which might endanger entrenched interests.
This is a bigger question than HN is good for. I've thought of writing it up in a blog post, but I suspect most people would find it hugely boring. For instance, does the release of the ChromeOS source code enhance or detract from Google's (my employers) revenue.
If ChromeOS is successful it will help bind people closer to google, which is ostensibly good for us.
But...If we lose technological leadership in the project, does it matter? It will mean someone else has advanced the project and likely as not , brought more people onto the internet, where through our advertising skills we thrive.
Also, I don't think that you could call seach a commodity while there is qualitative differences between the different engines. But that's a much longer post...