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By 'Free Software' we mean computer programs that give opportunities to the user instead of restrictions. While proprietary programs limit the user's opportunities, free software gives several important freedoms:
- to use the software the way you want
- to copy and distribute the software to whoever you wish
- to study how the program is built and also how to modify and improve it such that it suits your needs better
- to distribute your improved version to others – as long as they get to enjoy the same freedoms as you
In practice, this means that free software is free of charge. But that is not the most important benefit. The freedoms that the user gets are in the long run.
There is a buzz around the real value of other related concepts, 'Open Software','Open Source' and 'Freeware'. While Freeware only means software free of charge, real free software gives so many and more important freedoms.
When the concept of 'Open Source' is used, it creates a distance with those who don't know what 'source' means. The term 'source' deserves a definition here.
Short Explanation: People write software in different programming languages. This is the source code that is translated into machine code so that the computer can execute the program. The machine code is not understandable by human beings. Without getting the source code, you cannot modify the program.
Open source means that you have access to the source code so that you may modify it. There exist other types of software whose source code is accessible without the freedom of modifying or distributing it. An example is Microsoft's 'shared source' . This is not considered open source in , for instance, EU's definition.
'Open software' and 'Open Source' are often used as synonyms of free software. The word 'open' has been a fashionable word in the IT field, while the word 'free' gives a more accurate picture of the users' rights.
Most people think of the 'license' as the money thief. This is an incorrect understanding of the word. License is the text dictating how you have the right to use the program.
There exist several free licenses. The most important is GPL. The operating system, Linux is released under this license.
Software that is available under a free license gives two clear advantages:
- A good cost distribution model for development
- The control is shifted from the vendor to the user
How can we say that the users get more control over their own IT systems?
Lets take the example of a customer who buys a content management system (CMS)from a vendor. The software is proprietary and the customer is locked to this vendor. After a while, the vendor goes bankrupt. The new owners of the assets are not interested in CMS. The customer is urged to replace the system, an expensive, unbudgeted switch. If the customer had chosen a CMS with a free license, they could have gone to a vendor that was not bankrupt and could have asked them to take over the further development.
If you use proprietary software, you will experience that the version you are using is not supported for long. You must buy upgrades to maintain security of the system. In this way, you are locked to the software provider.
Free Software promotes freedom of choice and competition
In the history of science, development has been open and you are to build upon the works of others. Just imagine how it would be if Albert Einstein was told that Newton's theory of gravity was patented. And that Einstein must pay a substantial amount of money just to read the theory to be able to develop it further. A poor student would not be able to do that. He would simply have to start from scratch – sit under an apple tree and wait for an apple to fall on his head. In such a world, man would not have landed on moon, yet.
Newton himself said, “If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”.
How can we say that free software development has a good cost distribution model?
Firstly, the threshold is to use the software is very low since it is freely accessible and free to use. It is easy to achieve a larger user group. Users will want the new functionality. This generally means that time and money gravitate toward improvements that are wanted by the users. The costs are distributed among those who want them. The typical costs we see in the big proprietary software houses are cut: Marketing, salary for colleagues when they are not productive, surplus for shareholders etc.
The cost distribution is more natural and effective.
Another experience is that the makers of closed software tend to function as tax collectors of license money. Providers of free software, on the other hand, live on development assignment and support. They are often more customer and service oriented.
The difference lies in covering the cost of software development by license fees or to develop the software gradually as the requirements of the functionality come forward. It would be easier to meet the customer's requirements with this last model.
Free software encourages competition and takes away opportunities for monopolies in the software industry. It puts the users' rights in focus and takes away the traditional locking mechanisms to the vendor. Free software lowers the threshold for contribution to development. It encourages local business and innovation. In addition, it creates faster growth in the IT industry when all stand free to build further on what others have made.
Free Software is creating a sensible and good IT evolution.
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