The hidden benefits of free software

NewsForge ^ | 4/15/2006 | Robin 'Roblimo' Miller

[N3WBI3]

Most conversations about the cost of free software deal with its effects on the software industry. Microsoft people often talk about how much money the proprietary software industry can add to a developing country's economy. At the same time, proprietary software vendors tell us the total cost of ownership (TCO) for their products is often less than cost of running competing open source products, even though in developing countries the cost of labor is almost always low enough that license fees for proprietary software are huge by comparison. All these conflicting numbers get wearisome. Perhaps we need to look beyond the software industry -- and beyond software pricing -- to see what effects free and open source software have on a country's economy.

Let's take a $1,000 software budget and spend it two ways:

* As license fees that go to a foreign corporation * As local spending to modify a free software package

Money sent to a foreign corporation does nothing to bolster the local economy. Money used to pay local developers gets spent locally on food, rents or mortgages, services, and in many other ways. The businesses a local software developer patronizes spend money locally themselves. The total multiplier effect of that $1,000 may be anywhere between three and six, depending on the economic model you use, but in any case we're saying that $1,000 put into the pockets of local software developers is worth between $3,000 and $6,000 in value to the country where it is spent. In the case of free software modified where it is being used, the country doing the spending reaps that benefit. If that same money goes out of the country as licensing fees, it will most likely benefit a North American or European country, since North America and Europe are home to the overwhelming majority of proprietary software companies.

Co-operative tech support

I've gotten all the free software tech support I've needed in the past seven or eight years from email lists and IRC channels. Several of the email lists I'm on are primarily tech support for and by people who use free software in their jobs. And yet, over and over I hear that support is one of the great advantages of proprietary software. "Ah," says the proprietary software proponent, "when you buy software you have someone to blame when it messes up. You have a company that stands behind it."

Excuse me?

Has anyone ever read a proprietary software licensing agreement? (Here's a PDF download of Microsoft's license agreement for Windows XP Pro, in case you haven't.) Have you noticed that you never get any kind of warranty that matters, or that support beyond basic installation usually costs beaucoup bucks?

The "companies can't accept free tech support, they need someone to blame," argument has been done to death, and I have trouble believing it. I know plenty of corporate IT people who rely on free IRC and email group support for both free and proprietary software. And in countries where most proprietary software is obtained illegally, it's obvious that most proprietary software tech support isn't coming through formal channels.

None of this casual support registers as economic activity, but it obviously has some sort of value. How do we measure it? Can we measure it? Should we even try?

Companies that provide software support are as threatened by free software support as proprietary software companies are by free software, but we don't have IT support company executives making thunderous speeches about how helping your neighbor with a computer problem is going to ruin the economy, do we?

Knowledge is power

I've said the following words (or similar ones) while speaking in several developing countries:

One reason I support free and open source software everywhere is self-interest. FOSS is the greatest training tool for programmers ever developed, and for all I know the next world-changing genius programmer is here, in your country, not able to afford college. If we put a computer running GNU/Linux and open source applications in that person's hands, or give that person access to a public computing center that runs GNU/Linux, everyone in the world -- including me -- may someday benefit from that person's work.

There is no reason to believe that the next great genius programmer will be white, male, and European or American. For all we know, a shoeless slum child in Brazil, Egypt, or Mexico has more programming talent than Linus Torvalds. We must make sure she has access to computers, and specifically to computers filled with software she can take apart to see how it works, not software whose source code is hidden from her.

Learning how to push buttons in Windows is nice, but it won't teach you how the software behind the buttons works. We realize that most users will never look at source code, but it is an invaluable training tool for anyone who may need to write or modify code one day, and any school or other public or semi-public computer facility that doesn't make plenty of open source software available to youngsters who are interested in computers is short-changing them.

Some of the kids whose eyes are opened by open source will become programmers. Many -- possibly most -- won't, but will probably end up in jobs where computer knowledge is useful in one way or another.

Does it matter whether these jobs are in "the software industry" or in auto parts warehouses, marine biology research labs, and other non-software businesses? Does it matter whether someone who writes (or helps write) a program that makes work easier at his place of employment is called a "software developer" or carries another title?

Either way, the software gets written and used -- and hopefully saves labor or has other economic or non-economic benefits. And as far as I'm concerned, this is the point of free and open source software, no matter what effect its existence has on the software industry as it exists today.

[N3WBI3]

I was not going to post this because I know what it might attract but there are some good points in the article. I tend to agree with AR you use the right tool for the job be it open or closed source.

I will say this, I just got around a very expensive upgrade of our IVR by using OpenSource software that money is being used for harware upgrades and contractor dollars.

[N3WBI3]

OSS PING

If you are interested in the OSS ping list please mail me

[N3WBI3]

One thing I really disagree with is this

The "companies can't accept free tech support, they need someone to blame," argument has been done to death, and I have trouble believing it. I know plenty of corporate IT people who rely on free IRC and email group support for both free and proprietary software.

I would never rely on google and IRC no matter how good they are (and I use them often) when the day is over I want someone way better than me who spends a solid 40 a week doing nothing but support. When I need Linux I buy RedHat if I wanted to run Asterisk I would go with Digium..

[Salo]

I agree with you on the tech support point: we're well into the process of switching our servers to FreeBSD and Linux running Samba and one of the requirements before committing to this process was that we be able to get tech support from somewhere besides google.

I still solve most problems with google, but if i ever get jammed up, it's nice to have something to fall back on, even if it is sort of admitting defeat when I use it.

[N3WBI3]

Have you used RH support before? or are you going with Novell?

I still solve most problems with google, but if i ever get jammed up, it's nice to have something to fall back on, even if it is sort of admitting defeat when I use it.

My problem with google is there is way too much info out there, I know I could find the solution but unless I get a really specific error the search can be exhausting. That is one of the reasons all my code has a well though out and documented error handling process. Literally every point in the code where an error can occur give a specific code which is either in a readme file (compiled code) or at the beginning in the form of comments (pl, sh). I also follow the proper way to perform error handling (check before you try).. If everyone coded and documented thoroughly enough google would be much more useful. I dont take a pride hit from asking the tech at RH about an error I have never seen and they see ten times a day, thats what the development environment is for ;)

[softwarecreator]

For companies with very limited budgets Linux is a smart idea, no question there.  The benefits are becoming more pronounced every year.  To me, if they could just get a foothold into the market share (like Red Hat seems to be doing) the future is unlimited for open source.

Thanks for the ping, good article.

[MikefromOhio]

NB4GE

And those damned

***COPYLEFTISTS***

[N3WBI3]

To me, if they could just get a foothold into the market share (like Red Hat seems to be doing) the future is unlimited for open source.

Linux has somewhere between 15-24% of the world market (depends who you talk to) thats a pretty good foothold. If you want to talk plainly about why it wont penetrate the desktop more you need to look at 15 years of code written by companies to run on one operating system. Heck I could get linux desktops deployed with little to no resistance from upper management and users if only we did not have so much dang powerbuilder code floating around..

I think the future is now, with OSS and closed source in the same echosystem. Sun uses Samba, SCO uses webmin, VMWare uses a linux kernel for the console, and all these companies save money to focus on their business focus...

[Salo]

We are leaving Novell Netware for (mostly) FreeBSD and Red Hat. My guys consider RH's tech support underwhelming. The FreeBSD support isn't bad.

Novell's tech support for Netware was fantastic. I don't know how their Linux support is.

I just prefer to solve things myself - I feel like I learn more that way - and hate not being able to. Then again, beating my head against the wall all day for something someone else can fix in 30 seconds isn't much fun, either.

[Cvengr]

IMHO, until open source software is established for most of the Microsoft Office suite and database applications, growth in SW will become very stagnant and expensive. Foreign SW development need not be so hampered and will eventually overtake such a monopolistic market.

If open source was as prolific today as Microsoft, there would be far less threat of intrusive software attacks. Whenever there was doubt as to the system's behavior, the source code could be tracked by professionals.

Instead, today, those who are labeled 'professional' in the field generally only have the 'vendor accredited' license of professionalism. Even the Cosa Nostra has a more veritable reputation for professionalism than Microsoft.

[N3WBI3]

My guys consider RH's tech support underwhelming.

really? I have has really good experiences with them, what level of support do you have? I get someone on the phone right off the bat and they are pretty knowledgable guys.

Then again, beating my head against the wall all day for something someone else can fix in 30 seconds isn't much fun, either.

Thats what I do in development..

[AFreeBird]

If you're transitioning from Netware to Linux, why not go with SuSE by Novell? There are even tools that come with the distro for accessing Netware, such as:

ncpfs - Tools for Accessing Novell File Systems

With this program you can mount Netware-server file systems under Linux. You can even print Linux documents on printers attached to a Novell server.

km_novfs - Novell Client kernel module

Novell Client kernel module

km_nss - Novell Storage Services (NSS) Kernel Modules

This package contains the kernel loadable modules for Novell Storage Services (NSS). The NSS file storage and management system provides an easy, reliable, and secure way to organize, consolidate, and manage data for your enterprise. NSS includes many unique and powerful file system capabilities, such as Visibility, Trustee Access control model, multiple simultaneous namespace support, native Unicode, User and Directory quotas, rich file attributes, multiple data stream support, Event File Lists, and a file salvage sub-system. It is especially suited for managing shared file services for any size organization, scaling management of the system for even the largest of organizations with hundreds of thousands of employees.

marsnwe - Novell Server Emulation

This program provides complete emulation of a Novell server. It supports file-service, bindery-service, print-service, and routing-service. Your kernel has to be configured according to /usr/share/doc/packages/marsnwe/INSTALL.

ifolder3 - File Sharing and Collaboration Tool

The iFolder Project is a project focused on file sharing and collaboration, released under the GPL and supporting the iFolder 3 protocol from Novell.

And of course NDS is available on Linux as well so you could maintain your directory services tree. And while I can't comment on tech support for openSuSE, since I've been able to answer all of my questions from either their own SuSE portal, or the net at large, I believe the SELS and SELD are serviced by Novell.

Just a thought.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Nice!!

[softwarecreator]

Linux has somewhere between 15-24% of the world market

Is that server or desktop?  I can believe it has almost 25% of the server market, but no where near that amount for desktops.

For Linux to heavily break into the total marketshare it needs to get more agressive in the desktop arena, not just server.  I agree with your statement "I think the future is now, with OSS and closed source in the same echosystem".  In just the last year that we've been on this thread I've seen Linux make some impressive moves and gains.  The future for Linux is wide open and limitless

[FLAMING DEATH]

And for that to happen, they need to hire people other than programmers to handle the ergonomics and feng-shui of the whole desktop thing.

As much as I like KDE, I can point to several examples of things being way harder than they need to be, or the obvious is not pointed out because the programmer assumed you knew more than you did.

Linux definitely has it's merits, but the desktop environment people need to get their act together to make things a lot more straightforward.

[FLAMING DEATH]

Oh yeah, and NB4GE.

[softwarecreator]

And for that to happen, they need to hire people other than programmers to handle the ergonomics and feng-shui of the whole desktop thing

I don't know all the behind-the-scenes on who's building the Linux desktop, but what you say makes sense.

[softwarecreator]

Oh yeah, and NB4GE

Personally I think GE and n3wbi3 are the same person and he just likes to argue with himself.  Has anyone ever seen the two of them together?  =)

[N3WBI3]

I resent that in the strongest way possible..

[Salo]

Girl Bird has been posting at Free Republic before JimRob: ask her. N3wbi3 is ... new.