Free software... and why we avoid it.

by Clive Webster , Barry Collins on Sep 22, 2006

Tags: freeware | open | source | software | free

With the free products on our new cover DVD, you need never buy software again. So why do we still keep paying?

Open source software has finally come of age, and thousands of Australians are now benefiting from professional-looking programs that haven’t cost them a penny. Too good to be true? Most certainly not.

Whether you’re looking for an operating system, Internet browser or just a small anti-spyware utility, there’s almost certainly an open source program that fits the bill. You’ll find a selection of top-quality, open source software on the cover disc, and we review the best apps in this feature.

Not only is such software normally free of charge, it’s also free from the licensing restrictions that prevent people from adapting it. Consequently, programmers are given full access to the source code so they can tailor the software to their own needs, or make improvements or bug fixes that can be incorporated into forthcoming revisions of a particular program.

‘That ability to modify [the code] is one of its greatest merits,’ says open source enthusiast Matthew Braymiller. ‘One person can write a program to the best of his abilities, then a group of people can make it better by adding and improving features. As the program gains popularity, the potential developer base outgrows even the large commercial software companies.’

Yet despite the seemingly obvious advantages of open source programs, paid-for commercial software remains in the ascendancy. So why do we still pay for software when high-quality free alternatives are no more than a download away? Is open source plagued with support, security and reliability issues, or are we being duped by a commercial software industry desperate to cling on to its profit margins? This feature lifts the lid on all the reasons we still pay for software, and asks whether it’s time for a change in attitude. But first let’s consider how the open source movement came to be.

This article appeared in the October, 2006 issue of PC Authority.