Why Opensource and freewares

Question

I have used certain freeware tools which are really great in terms of the features they provide. Not to mention, the opensource frameworks and API we commonly use.

I wonder what, apart from sharing, is the ideallogy behind publishing an opensource or freeware. Doesn't this hamper the competitor comapnies which are are having a market base in the contemprary field ?

Answer 1

Why does there need to be any ideology other than sharing? I guess there's a certain amount of ego-boosting that goes with it in certain cases.

The same can be said of this site though: why do people post answers here? Because sharing knowledge is a good thing, and it never hurts to have a nice reputation. Does this hurt companies who require subscriptions for answers to technical questions? Perhaps - in which case I suggest they're in the wrong market.

If a commercial app can't compete with an open source app in the same area, I see that as a problem for the company rather than a problem with the world or the open source developers.

Answer 2

Some people like giving back to the community.

Some people would rather have the fame of a lot of people using their app, rather than getting a few bucks from a handfull of people using it.

Setting up a retail operation to handle product sales is a hassle, so for a few sales, it's often not worth the effort.

When people pay for applications, they expect support. Open-source give developers a means to avoiding that.

Answer 3

Read the philosophy section of the GNU website.

Answer 4

There are many reasons for a company to provide items open source. Just to name a few of them as I see it

• it is a good way to give back to the community, in a way like donating money
• Can be used as a marketing tool for your company, the open source product can be a porfolio item
• It can create a larger eco system for paid development (look at DotNetNuke, Joomla, Dupal)

There are many things, sharing is part of it, there may be other parts to it, but overall it is a good thing in my opinion, and that is why I provide Open Source code myself.

Answer 5

First of all, people have written books on this questions, so no one here can give a complete answer.

• Freeware, is often just people that can't be bothered to setup the infrastructure to charge, or like having people use their programs, but aren't going through the effort to setup an actual open source project.

• Free Software have a more complex philosophy behind it that you can read about from the Free Software Foundation.

• Open Source Software's proponents (the communities for which heavily overlap with the Free Software movement), generally argue that the sharing represents a fundamentally superior development model for certain types of software (although there is great debate about which types, or that its all types). They can make money on support or custom development around the project. For example the creator of Drupal, recently created his own company to do work around the tools; he was able to land something like $4 million in VC funding to start a company that works on something given away free.

Finally to the question of competition, it is the job of every business to hamper the competitive edge of other companies. If you don't, you'll be out competed eventually and loose, no matter your business model.

Answer 6

The answer for "why Open Source" will vary with each project and the developers involved. Generally speaking the reasons generally break down into 4 main categories.

1. Altruism. For many developers Open Source is their way of giving back to the broader community.
2. Self Interest. In many cases, Open Source projects are started and maintained to scratch the itch of a particular individual. When an app is focused on a very narrow niche area, you are not likely to find a commercial alternative because the financial realities would make it too cost prohibitive to create and support an app with a small set of potential users. Often Open Source actually benefits commercial interests by identifying that a larger base of potential users exists than originally suspected.
3. Marketing. Most traditional software companies will spend up to 70% of the cost of a license on sales and marketing efforts. Much of this cost can be avoided in commercial Open Source offerings. In this case more of the cost of the product can be applied to engineering and support efforts.
4. Development. For many Open Source projects, having access to a broader developer base allows the project to mature more rapidly. Development costs can be spread out over a larger pool of developers. One side effect of this is that, for popular projects, they are more likely to have access to developers with specialized skillsets that will likely be outside the ability of most companies to hire. Most software companies have to pick and choose which specialized skills they are willing to hire. Often they forgo implementing certain features because the skillset is outside the core competency of the company's developers.