As amazing as it sounds, there are infact businesses and foundations around the world that actively build and distribute software for no cost. The reason for them giving away their software depends on company to company, but the advantages to the consumers is immense.
Way back in the 70’s, computer enthusiasts and nerds would build software and give it to other programmers for free to try and make it better. Along came a man called Bill Gates who saw a business opportunity in creating software for computers and constructed Altair BASIC. Unfortunately for him, his software was also pirated around and he ended up writing a long letter describing why software should not be free (Google Bill Gates Open Letter).
Recently, the open source collective has been acquiring a significant slice in the software market, mostly driven by developing nations who can’t afford the licensing fees of commercial software like Windows, MS Office, Dreamweaver and even Programming Languages.
There are open source versions of probably everything, from blogging platforms to email clients. The open source concept has even hit the food and drink market with open source recipes for wine and beer now available on the Internet. I am actually typing this short article on a piece of open source software called Open Office, a free substitute to MS Word, and it’s powered by Ubuntu, an open source alternative to Windows or Mac OS X.
When it comes to websites, there is a lot of free available to run any kind of site. Web development companies such as Wordpress and Wikimedia Foundation release products free for anyone to use. What makes it extremely attractive is that open source customization can be undertaken by a huge number of companies around the Earth.
Utilizing open source software for your site provides a awesome base from which to begin, for example Wordpress is fantastic for virtually any sort of website, but with a bit of Wordpress customization you can have it meet your exact specifications for half of the cost of creating it from fom the start.
Before you buy your next software, always check to discover if there is an open source option available. Especially during these hard times, open source scripts could be one way you or your company can lower its costs.
- New FTP Video Upload & Browsing Platform - The developers of video compression and publishing software DV Kitchen make a bold claim . . . they call it the best solution in the world for publishing professional quality video on the web.
So how does it measure up?
First, DV Kitchen uses the highest quality H.264 encoder on the planet. Being an open source codec, ...
- How to Trade Without Fear Using FX Trading Software Formula - You may be wondering what is forex industry? To put it simply, forex involves the trading of different currency pairs. There are many bodies that engage in the forex industry. Central banks, large corporations, governments and individual traders all participate in the world’s largest financial market. While previously, only large companies and wealthy individuals could ...
- 6 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Writing a Cover Letter - If you have been unsuccessful in getting a serious response, or responses, to the resumes you have sent out; perhaps it is time to take a hard look at what you have been sending out. First, please understand that generally you are up against huge odds in mailing or posting a resume to a job ...
