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From: |
Yavor Doganov |
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Subject: |
www/philosophy software-libre-commercial-viabil... |
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Date: |
Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:28:22 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Yavor Doganov <yavor> 07/06/22 14:28:22
Modified files:
philosophy : software-libre-commercial-viability.html
Log message:
Templated.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.3&r2=1.4
Patches:
Index: software-libre-commercial-viability.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html,v
retrieving revision 1.3
retrieving revision 1.4
diff -u -b -r1.3 -r1.4
--- software-libre-commercial-viability.html 8 May 2004 09:42:14 -0000
1.3
+++ software-libre-commercial-viability.html 22 Jun 2007 14:28:02 -0000
1.4
@@ -1,93 +1,49 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
-<HTML>
-<HEAD>
-<TITLE>Software Libre and Commercial Viability.</TITLE>
-<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:address@hidden";>
-</HEAD>
-<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#1F00FF" ALINK="#FF0000"
VLINK="#9900DD">
-<CENTER><H2>Software Libre and Commercial Viability.<br><font>(Nov 12th 1998,
-published in February 1999)</font></H2></CENTER>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<title>Software Libre and Commercial Viability</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>Software Libre and Commercial Viability</h2>
+<h3>(Nov 12th 1998, published in February 1999)</h3>
<p>
-<DIV ALIGN=right><ADDRESS>by Alessandro Rubini</ADDRESS></DIV>
-
-<P>
-<A HREF="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><IMG
SRC="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
- ALT=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] "
- WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="200"></A>
-
-[
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical -->
-<!-- PLEASE UPDATE THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM (OR TOP) OF THE PAGE TOO! -->
- <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html">English</A>
-| <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.fr.html">French</A>
-| <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.it.html">Italian</A>
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical -->
-<!-- PLEASE UPDATE THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM (OR TOP) OF THE PAGE TOO! -->
-]
-
-<P>
-
-<HR>
-
-<P>
-
-<H4>Table of Contents</H4>
-<UL>
- <LI><A HREF="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#sec1"
- NAME="toc1">Viability for Individual Consultants</A>
- <LI><A HREF="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#sec2"
- NAME="toc2">Viability for Support Companies</A>
- <LI><A HREF="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#sec3"
- NAME="toc3">Viability for Education Centers </A>
- <LI><A HREF="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#sec4"
- NAME="toc4">Social Issues</A>
- <LI><A HREF="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#sec5"
- NAME="toc5">Limits of the Free Software Model</A>
- <LI><A HREF="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</A>
-</UL>
-
-<P>
-
-<HR>
+by <strong>Alessandro Rubini</strong></p>
<p>Fortunately, Linus' project of world domination is going to come true
fairly soon. The trend toward this goal can be verified by checking
how the press is behaving towards GNU/Linux solutions, looking at how
several educational entities are going to introduce Free Software in
-the schools and verifying its usual technical excellence.
+the schools and verifying its usual technical excellence.</p>
<p>Today in 1998 (yes, it is still 1998 as I write), the most
important job remaining, in my opinion, is propagating the social and
commercial implications of Free Software. While I greatly appreciated
-Russell Nelson's article ``Open Source Software Model'' in the July
-issue of <i>LJ</i>, I feel the need to expand on the points he briefly
-touched.
+Russell Nelson's article “Open Source Software Model” in
+the July issue of <i>LJ</i>, I feel the need to expand on the points
+he briefly touched.</p>
<p>Please note that I'm not an expert in economics or politics. I'm
just a build-it-yourself kind of technical guy whose discussion is
based on his own experience in the battle for survival, in the hopes
of helping someone else adapt to new environmental conditions. Some of
these ideas have already been discussed with friends or on the Free
-Software Business mailing list (address@hidden), which I
-joined after reading Russell's article.
-
-<h3><a href="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#toc1"
- name="sec1">Viability for Individual Consultants</a></h3>
-
-<p>The best feature of any computer system is flexibility-- allowing
-users to tailor its behaviour to their own needs. This flexibility is
-often completely unknown to the general computer user, because
-proprietary software solutions tend to hide functionality behind a
-rigid external interface which denies any divergence from the expected
-behaviour--a <i>user's</i> behaviour.
+Software Business mailing list
+(<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></a>),
+which I joined after reading Russell's article.</p>
+
+<h3 id="sec1">Viability for Individual Consultants</h3>
+
+<p>The best feature of any computer system is flexibility —
+allowing users to tailor its behaviour to their own needs. This
+flexibility is often completely unknown to the general computer user,
+because proprietary software solutions tend to hide functionality
+behind a rigid external interface which denies any divergence from the
+expected behaviour—a <i>user's</i> behaviour.</p>
<p>When adopting Free Software, users are able to discover the real
power of computer systems. Today I talked with a commercial consultant
who never thought that programs could be adapted to one's needs. He
-confessed his company has always acted the other way around--they
+confessed his company has always acted the other way around—they
adapted their needs to the software they use. Most users are victims
-of their software and don't even realize it.
+of their software and don't even realize it.</p>
<p>Educating the user base about the extendibility of software will
open new markets to independent consultants, creating new employment
@@ -98,7 +54,7 @@
might arise to be quickly solved and new features to be easily
added. While you may think this would quickly lead to a <i>perfect</i>
software package, individual needs are so diverse and specialized that
-a package can't satisfy everyone.
+a package can't satisfy everyone.</p>
<p>For example, I and others wrote a program for a local physiology
center to analyze data for a typical kind of experiment. During two
@@ -109,7 +65,7 @@
alternatives. This fact is not relevant to my clients, as they have
exactly what they want and they know they can have more should the
need arise. The program is obviously Free Software and other centers
-expressed interest in getting a copy.
+expressed interest in getting a copy.</p>
<p>As more and more people are choosing Free Software to address their
needs, I'm sure some software companies will try to demonize GNU/Linux
@@ -118,21 +74,21 @@
demonstrate that IT employment is decreasing and that humankind is
being damaged by the general adoption of Free Software. This whole
argument is bogus; computers exist to be programmed, and the more you
-allow programming them, the more you build employment
-opportunities. If you count the number of people who offer Free
-Software consulting, you will greatly exceed any shrinkage of
-proprietary companies. Sticking to my previous example, the physiology
-lab hired my company to write the program, and other centers
-interested in the product are willing to hire a local consultant for
-installing, maintaining and enhancing our package. Did I say
-``enhance''? Isn't the program working? Yes, the program is working
-well, but there <i>is</i> room for enhancement of the product. The
-local lab decided to stop development ``because we must run our
-experiment rather than invent new software features''. As anyone
-knows, every program has a bug and a missing feature, and this is
-where we build our credibility: bugs <i>can</i> be fixed and features
-<i>can</i> be implemented. As I suggested before, the more you make
-things programmable, the more they will be programmed.
+allow programming them, the more you build employment opportunities.
+If you count the number of people who offer Free Software consulting,
+you will greatly exceed any shrinkage of proprietary companies.
+Sticking to my previous example, the physiology lab hired my company
+to write the program, and other centers interested in the product are
+willing to hire a local consultant for installing, maintaining and
+enhancing our package. Did I say “enhance”? Isn't the
+program working? Yes, the program is working well, but there <i>is</i>
+room for enhancement of the product. The local lab decided to stop
+development “because we must run our experiment rather than
+invent new software features”. As anyone knows, every program
+has a bug and a missing feature, and this is where we build our
+credibility: bugs <i>can</i> be fixed and features <i>can</i> be
+implemented. As I suggested before, the more you make things
+programmable, the more they will be programmed.</p>
<p>Why should there be more employment opportunities in IT than there
are now? First of all, because Free Software users have more requests
@@ -142,7 +98,7 @@
expertise by studying source code and trying things out on my own
low-end PC. Now I am confident I can solve any problem my clients
might have, and my clients know I can (provided I am given enough time
-to deal with the problem).
+to deal with the problem).</p>
<p>Another critical point in addition to source availability is
standardization on file formats, a field where proprietary products
@@ -150,15 +106,15 @@
every file format in the system was known: you could, for example,
create indexes from any document that is produced, thus easing later
retrieval. This can be accomplished off-line without any load on
-non-technical personnel. Asynchronous reuse of data is ``rocket
-science'' for many users, because they are accustomed to programs that
-use proprietary file formats (and operating systems with no real
-multi-tasking or ``cron'' capabilities). As soon as free standards are
-adopted, users begin asking for customizations and are willing to pay
-for anything that will increase their productivity. Moreover, free
-standards guarantee that customers are not making the wrong bet, as
-they won't ever be stuck with unusable data if the software market
-changes.
+non-technical personnel. Asynchronous reuse of data is “rocket
+science” for many users, because they are accustomed to programs
+that use proprietary file formats (and operating systems with no real
+multi-tasking or “cron” capabilities). As soon as free
+standards are adopted, users begin asking for customizations and are
+willing to pay for anything that will increase their productivity.
+Moreover, free standards guarantee that customers are not making the
+wrong bet, as they won't ever be stuck with unusable data if the
+software market changes.</p>
<p>While the conventional model of software distribution concentrates
all knowledge in a few companies (or one of them), open standards
@@ -166,7 +122,7 @@
proprietary product can be supported only by a limited number of
qualified consultants (whose number and quality is centrally managed),
the number of consultants supporting a Free Software solution is
-virtually unlimited and the offer can quickly adapt to the request.
+virtually unlimited and the offer can quickly adapt to the request.</p>
<p>In a world where computers are just tools to accomplish some other
goals, easy customization and quick maintenance are basic requirements
@@ -174,40 +130,39 @@
trust it needs to be a real market phenomenon. As soon as you start to
trust some Free Software products, you learn that they deserve more.
GNU/Linux fans must be ready to offer support in order to fulfill the
-upcoming need for consultants.
+upcoming need for consultants.</p>
-<h3><a href="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#toc2"
- name="sec2">Viability for Support Companies</a></h3>
+<h3 id="sec2">Viability for Support Companies</h3>
<p>Obviously, independent consultants don't cover all the needs of
computer users. Several activities can't be handled by
individuals. Red Hat and S.u.S.E. are demonstrating that creating and
maintaining a distribution can be a good source of revenue even when
the product is freely redistributable. Debian-based efforts are on the
-way, although less advanced--mainly because both Red Hat and
+way, although less advanced—mainly because both Red Hat and
S.u.S.E. bundled proprietary products with libre packages in order to
survive while the market share was low, while Debian has always been
-completely detached from proprietary products, and still is.
+completely detached from proprietary products, and still is.</p>
-<p>In addition to ``creating and packaging'' or ``collecting and
-packaging'' jobs, companies can specialize in technical support,
-covering the situations where computer systems are of critical
-importance. Big business realities using computer systems in their
-productive environment won't be satisfied with either the external
-consultant or the in-house technician. They need to rely on an
-external structure that guarantees round-the-clock operation of their
-technological aids.
+<p>In addition to “creating and packaging” or
+“collecting and packaging” jobs, companies can specialize
+in technical support, covering the situations where computer systems
+are of critical importance. Big business realities using computer
+systems in their productive environment won't be satisfied with either
+the external consultant or the in-house technician. They need to rely
+on an external structure that guarantees round-the-clock operation of
+their technological aids.</p>
<p>Even if GNU/Linux or any other operating system is demonstrated to
be completely reliable, power users will need to rely on a support
company as a form of insurance. The more important computers are for a
production environment, the more people are willing to pay to be
reassured that everything will go on working and to have someone
-``responsible'' to call in case of any failure. Such a ``power user''
-support contract could also include a provision for refunds in case of
-down time. Big support companies will be able to efficiently deal with
-it, and clients will be happy to pay high rates even if they never
-need to call for assistance.
+“responsible” to call in case of any failure. Such a
+“power user” support contract could also include a
+provision for refunds in case of down time. Big support companies will
+be able to efficiently deal with it, and clients will be happy to pay
+high rates even if they never need to call for assistance.</p>
<p>In short, I see no need for software companies to keep exclusive
rights on their products; the support environment is big enough to
@@ -216,10 +171,9 @@
Software development, thus gaining access to the best software before
anyone else and associating their name with software products. As a
matter of fact, this practice is already pursued by the big
-distributions.
+distributions.</p>
-<h3><a href="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#toc3"
- name="sec3">Viability for Education Centers</a></h3>
+<h3 id="sec3">Viability for Education Centers</h3>
<p>Needless to say, schools and universities have the best interest in
teaching information technologies using Free Software tools. Due to
@@ -228,143 +182,157 @@
proficiently administered. I see no money saved here in choosing Free
operating systems over proprietary ones, but educational entities
could better spend their money on hiring system administrators than on
-subsidizing some already-too-wealthy commercial software company. While
-my
-country, Italy, is stuck with a few rules that offer more support for
-buying things rather than for employing people, other
-countries are already moving in the right direction--Mexico and
+subsidizing some already-too-wealthy commercial software company.
+While my country, Italy, is stuck with a few rules that offer more
+support for buying things rather than for employing people, other
+countries are already moving in the right direction—Mexico and
France, for example, have announced plans to use GNU/Linux in their
-public
-schools.
+public schools.</p>
<p>One more point leads toward Free Software in education: when
students get jobs, they prefer to use tools they learned at school in
order to minimize extra learning efforts. This fact should lead
-colleges to teach only those tools not owned by anyone--those that are
-libre. Schools should teach proprietary software only if two
+colleges to teach only those tools not owned by anyone—those
+that are libre. Schools should teach proprietary software only if two
conditions apply: no viable alternative is available, and the company
that distributes such software <i>pays</i> the school for teaching its
product. Paying someone for a product in order to advertising it for
-him is definitely nonsense.
+him is definitely nonsense.</p>
-<h3><a href="software-libre-commercial-viability.html#toc4"
- name="sec4">Social Issues</a></h3>
+<h3 id="sec4">Social Issues</h3>
<p>A few social issues relate to choosing one software model over
another one. Although I mark them as social, they have economic
-implications as well.
+implications as well.</p>
<p>
-While Free Software may not be cheaper than proprietary software if you
-bill for your own time, some environments use different rates in
+While Free Software may not be cheaper than proprietary software if
+you bill for your own time, some environments use different rates in
converting time to money. Most emerging countries have good
intellectual resources but little money, and they usually have many
not-so-new computers as well. Proprietary operating systems are
unaffordable for them, but free solutions are viable and
-productive. Actually, the ``Halloween'' document supports my point
-by underlining that ``Linux'' is growing very fast in the Far East.
-Charity
-organizations usually have this same environment--little money and a
-good amount of human resources. This leads straight to the Free
-Software model for any IT requirement.
+productive. Actually, the “Halloween” document supports my
+point by underlining that “Linux” is growing very fast in
+the Far East. Charity organizations usually have this same
+environment—little money and a good amount of human
+resources. This leads straight to the Free Software model for any IT
+requirement.</p>
<p>These ideas will probably suggest that free availability of
-information looks fairly leftist in spirit, as ``information to the
-masses'' looks quite similar to the old adage ``power to the
-masses''. What is usually ignored is the strong rightist flavour of
-the Free Software movement. The Free Software arena is fiercely
-meritocratic and a perfect environment for free competition, where the
-laws of the market ensure that only the best ideas and the best
-players survive. Proprietary standards, on the other hand, tend to
-diminish competition by decreasing innovation and consolidating
-previous results.
+information looks fairly leftist in spirit, as “information to
+the masses” looks quite similar to the old adage “power to
+the masses”. What is usually ignored is the strong rightist
+flavour of the Free Software movement. The Free Software arena is
+fiercely meritocratic and a perfect environment for free competition,
+where the laws of the market ensure that only the best ideas and the
+best players survive. Proprietary standards, on the other hand, tend
+to diminish competition by decreasing innovation and consolidating
+previous results.</p>
-<h3><a href="software-libre-commercial-viability.it.html#toc5"
- name="sec5">Limits of the Free Software Model</a></h3>
+<h3 id="sec5">Limits of the Free Software Model</h3>
<p>Naturally, I'm aware that not every software package can easily be
-turned into Free Software. I'm not talking about office products--I'm
-confident some good projects will supply this need, sooner or later.
+turned into Free Software. I'm not talking about office
+products—I'm confident some good projects will supply this need,
+sooner or later.</p>
-<P>Rather, I'm talking about all environments where a strong
+<p>Rather, I'm talking about all environments where a strong
competition exists for a product only loosely based on its software
component. For example, industrial equipment might include a computer
-and some commodity hardware (a robot, custom I/O peripherals, PLCs,
-etc.); the software application hosted in the computer is a minor part
-of the whole, but its features greatly affect the overall value of the
+and some commodity hardware (a robot, custom I/O peripherals,
+<abbr title="Programmable logic controller">PLC</abbr>s, etc.); the
+software application hosted in the computer is a minor part of the
+whole, but its features greatly affect the overall value of the
equipment. Producing and debugging such applications usually require
huge investments; free redistribution of source code is thus prevented
-as a form of protection against competitors.
+as a form of protection against competitors.</p>
<p>Another meaningful example is cell telephones. They include a lot
of software, even though this software is almost invisible to the end
user, who perceives the device as a telephone and not a computer. Such
software is the component that defines the overall capabilities of the
device; because of its major functional role in the device it is
-strictly proprietary.
+strictly proprietary.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I see no easy way to liberalize this type of code.
-Although I
-don't care too much about cell phones (I don't use them :), I would
-really like to see free industrial applications because their
-technological
-content is usually worth reusing and adapting to new problems.
-
-<p>
-<blockquote><i> Alessandro writes Free Software for a living and
-advocates Free Software for a mission. He hopes his upcoming child
-will keep off computers, recalling the good old times when such beasts
-where confined to their technical zoos. He reads e-mail as
address@hidden trying to reply to everyone.
-</i></blockquote>
+Although I don't care too much about cell phones (I don't use them :),
+I would really like to see free industrial applications because their
+technological content is usually worth reusing and adapting to new
+problems.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p>Alessandro writes Free Software for a living and advocates Free
+Software for a mission. He hopes his upcoming child will keep off
+computers, recalling the good old times when such beasts where
+confined to their technical zoos. He reads e-mail
+as <a href="mailto:address@hidden";><address@hidden></a> trying
+to reply to everyone.</p>
-<p>Reprinted with permission of Linux Journal</p>
+<p>Reprinted with permission of Linux Journal.</p>
-<p>
+</div>
-<hr>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
-<h4><a href="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</a></h4>
+<p>
+Please send FSF & GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><em>address@hidden</em></a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF.
+<br />
+Please send broken links and other corrections or suggestions to
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><em>address@hidden</em></a>.
+</p>
-<hr>
+<p>
+Please see the
+<a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting
+translations of this article.
+</p>
-[
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical -->
-<!-- PLEASE UPDATE THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM (OR TOP) OF THE PAGE TOO! -->
- <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html">English</A>
-| <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.fr.html">French</A>
-| <A HREF="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.it.html">Italian</A>
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical -->
-<!-- PLEASE UPDATE THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM (OR TOP) OF THE PAGE TOO! -->
-]
-
-<hr>
-
-Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>.
-<P>
-
-Please send FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-There are also <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to
-contact</A> the FSF.
-<P>
-
-Please send comments on these web pages to
-
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>,
-send other questions to
-<A HREF="mailto:address@hidden";><EM>address@hidden</EM></A>.
-<P>
-Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Alessandro Rubini
-<P>
-Verbatim copying and redistribution of this entire article are permitted
+<p>
+Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Alessandro Rubini</p>
+<p>Verbatim copying and redistribution of this entire article are permitted
in any medium provided this notice and the copyright notice are preserved.
-<P>
-Aggiornato:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2004/05/08 09:42:14 $ $Author: taz $
+$Date: 2007/06/22 14:28:02 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
-<hr>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div id="translations">
+<h4>Translations of this page</h4>
+
+<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical. -->
+<!-- Comment what the language is for each type, i.e. de is German. -->
+<!-- Write the language name in its own language (Deutsch) in the text. -->
+<!-- If you add a new language here, please -->
+<!-- advise address@hidden and add it to -->
+<!-- - /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
+<!-- - /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
+<!-- - one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
+<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
+<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
+<!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right, cf. -->
+<!-- <URL:http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm> -->
+<!-- Please use W3C normative character entities. -->
+
+<ul class="translations-list">
+<!-- English -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html">English</a> [en]</li>
+<!-- French -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.fr.html">Français</a> [fr]</li>
+<!-- Italian -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.it.html">Italiano</a> [it]</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+</div>
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