Would you Buy Free Software ?

Before you answer this seemingly rhetoric question , ask yourself this : Do you understand the meaning of the word "FREE" in context with the term "Free Software" ?

From an unsatisfying personal experience I can tell you that most software engineers don't.

In brief, the "FREE" in software stands for "FREEDOM" and not for "free of cost". What this means is that, you have the Freedom to look at the source code of the software, modify it if you think you can enhance it any way, redistribute it to whoever your little heart desires. This redistribution can be free of cost OR...... YOU CAN CHARGE ANY AMOUNT YOU LIKE.

So basically, it is not only OK, but also encouraged to SELL "Free Software". Check it out right from the horse's mouth

It is due to this misconception of the word "Free" that most people scorn when they see a vendor selling Open Source (or Free Software) CDs. A friend of mine, started a venture to sell Free and OpenSource Software (Check it out) His venture basically aims at providing OpenSource Distributions at an mind-bogglingly affordable cost. (Sometimes I wonder whether he makes ANY profit at all )
The response to this was not too high. This was primarily because ,as he noticed, people in all the LUGS (Linux User Groups) were freely distributing CDs. And those people who wanted a specifc Distro which was not commonly available, he reached out to them, only to find that they rather NOT have the Distro then shell out a few bucks for it.

There is a certain amount of hesitance in the Indian psyche which prohibits us from "BUYING" software. Maybe this has to do with the fact that when the IT revolution arrived in India, every student/engineer who had access to a PC was using unlisceced version of the Windows operating system. It was too easy to get your hands on a Windows or a Microsoft Office CD. Heck even, good graphics software like Photoshop, Corel , etc. were freely passed around.

So now, albiet the fact that Open Source Software is very scarce, buying it from vendors brings shuddeers down their spine.
They'd much rather say "Bye,Bye" than "Buy, Buy" (How lame was that pun ?)

Well, to wrap it up : Don't go around discouraging people to use Open Source Software "only if you get it for free". Encourage buying of Free Software and do your part in thanking all the Free Software coders and enthusiasts.