Free Software Ideology
Many people are perplexed as to how a whole world of free software can exist, a huge number of serious programs for which authors do not require money from users, and even make the sources open to the whole world.
Moreover, new supporters join the free software community at an unprecedented rate. Are they crazy? Ready to work for food?
Not.
Knowledge The
secret is that free software is the future. Just as the Inquisition once persecuted scientists, forbidding them to engage in science, now large commercial companies impede progress by limiting it to locking knowledge in “corporate secrets”, patent protection, closed source code and unjustified prices for the finished product.
In free software, the opposite is true. The result obtained once becomes accessible to everyone, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. This colossal move facilitates the exchange of accumulated knowledge between people. In the closed software environment, we often see several similar programs made from scratch that compete with each other. And their developers had to duplicate the same thing many times. In the world of free software, the work of the same number of developers would bring more results.
A simple example - who will solve 10 math problems faster? Ten people together, or each individually.
Mistakes
We all know that there are errors in the software. More or less, but there is. Deficiencies, unaccounted situations, not optimal solutions, etc. There is a law in free software that says: “With enough eyes, all errors are on the surface.”
Also, imagine which code will be better, the code that only your colleagues in a closed company will see besides you, or the code that hundreds of interested members of the community will see. It is clear that in the second case you will write it better. In order not to be disgraced. And so that others understand. And this affects the quality of the programs.
Money
Should free software developers eat? Dress? Love women and give them presents? Yes. What do free software developers make money on? With custom software developers, everything is clear. But what about those who write free boxed software.
There are several ways.
1. Communities and charity.
There are communities that support developers. An example is the GNOME Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Foundation. If there is a worthwhile program under GNOME, then they can allocate money for its development from the community of the Dwarf community. And community communities are replenished, for example, by manufacturers of distributions, private donations.
2.Support and updates.
Distribution manufacturers often feed on this. Part of the money is given to communities involved in software development.
Of course, with this approach, it’s impossible to earn billions. But money is not happiness, is it?
As Torvalds said, just for fun.
Moreover, new supporters join the free software community at an unprecedented rate. Are they crazy? Ready to work for food?
Not.
Knowledge The
secret is that free software is the future. Just as the Inquisition once persecuted scientists, forbidding them to engage in science, now large commercial companies impede progress by limiting it to locking knowledge in “corporate secrets”, patent protection, closed source code and unjustified prices for the finished product.
In free software, the opposite is true. The result obtained once becomes accessible to everyone, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. This colossal move facilitates the exchange of accumulated knowledge between people. In the closed software environment, we often see several similar programs made from scratch that compete with each other. And their developers had to duplicate the same thing many times. In the world of free software, the work of the same number of developers would bring more results.
A simple example - who will solve 10 math problems faster? Ten people together, or each individually.
Mistakes
We all know that there are errors in the software. More or less, but there is. Deficiencies, unaccounted situations, not optimal solutions, etc. There is a law in free software that says: “With enough eyes, all errors are on the surface.”
Also, imagine which code will be better, the code that only your colleagues in a closed company will see besides you, or the code that hundreds of interested members of the community will see. It is clear that in the second case you will write it better. In order not to be disgraced. And so that others understand. And this affects the quality of the programs.
Money
Should free software developers eat? Dress? Love women and give them presents? Yes. What do free software developers make money on? With custom software developers, everything is clear. But what about those who write free boxed software.
There are several ways.
1. Communities and charity.
There are communities that support developers. An example is the GNOME Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Foundation. If there is a worthwhile program under GNOME, then they can allocate money for its development from the community of the Dwarf community. And community communities are replenished, for example, by manufacturers of distributions, private donations.
2.Support and updates.
Distribution manufacturers often feed on this. Part of the money is given to communities involved in software development.
Of course, with this approach, it’s impossible to earn billions. But money is not happiness, is it?
As Torvalds said, just for fun.