Free or Open Source?
Is there a difference?
Yes they are two different things, but there is an overlap.
In simple terms:
- Software is free if you don't have to pay for it or, perhaps more importantly, pay someone to install it.
- Software is open source if the author allows you to download a copy of the source code so that you can change it to suit your needs.
They sound very similar, but...
- Free software may not provide you with the source code, just a program you can run
- You may have to pay for a copy of the open source software or, more likely, pay for support.
In fact it's not helpful to think of software as 'free' or 'open source'. To categorise which programs are free, which are open source and what combinations are on offer gets complicated, and is, quite frankly, unnecessary.
Let's face it - if you're concerned about whether software is open source or not you probably either need to be a developer or be talking to a developer about the pros and cons of different software and platforms.
The best way to think of these is:
- 'Simple and free' software - software that I can download for free and install myself without any technical help
- 'Complex' software - Software that may be free, may be open source, but whatever the case, I will need help to do implement and support it, and that's going to cost me money
Cloud computing
At this point we should also mention what used to be known as 'Software as a Service' or SaaS, but is now more and more referred to as 'Cloud Computing'.
This term refers to a situation where the software and data files you use reside on the internet (the 'cloud') rather than on your PC/Mac, and the application is operated through web pages via your browser.
Good examples of this are Google's growing set of applications, bank account management software and our own Membership-online service. All these applications and their data reside completely on the internet and you access them using your browser. You might also consider webmail applications within this category.
These application need to provide you with a private view of your data, and, particularly in the case of banks and Membership-online your use of the system occurs within a fully secure environment, in that any information sent to your browser is encrypted before it is sent to you, and your browser decrypts it once it arrives on your PC. The padlock icon on your browser tells you this.
To enable this further, browsers like Chrome allow you to run the applications within their own window, making them appear more like a 'normal' application.
These applications have the benefit that you do not need to install any software to run them; they are also hardware independent, which means they will run the same on either PC or Mac. They are therefore included in our 'Simple and free' category.
Some 'Simple and Free' software you should consider investigating:
| Office applications | OpenOffice , Google docs |
| Alternative browsers | Firefox , Chrome , Opera |
| Security (anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware) | Avast , Comodo , AdAware |
| Encrypt files with a password | Truecrypt |
| Thunderbird , Gmail , GMX | |
| Visual design | Gimp |
| Mind mapping | Freemind Mindmeister |
'Complex' software
The rest fall into the pot with all other software, for which you should be considering, as with any software:
- What benefit does this application give me?
- How much is it going to cost to implement, and to support?
When investigating possibilities open source and free software will have an advantage over what you might call traditional software because they do not have an up-front license fee to pay, but unless you have some technical know-how, you will have to pay someone to implement the software for you and then support it afterwards.
Things to note about open source software:
- Typically, open source software is free if you use the test version, and rely solely on support from internet discussion groups; this is generally ok if you only want to use the product 'out of the box' but if you want to develop the product or it becomes a critical part of your organisation, you should consider using a 'stable' release and paying for support.
- If you do decide to change the software to suit your needs, consider how you will integrate those changes into an updated version of the software, which may have enhancements you want to use.
- When appraising open source software, perhaps using sourceforge, look for how mature the product is, whether new versions are being released regularly, and how quickly problems that have been raised are fixed or questions answered.
Some open source applications you may consider:
| Search my web site | Freefind |
| E-commerce | osCommerce |
| Product and stock management | Compiere |
| Customer relationship management (CRM) | SugarCRM |
If you would like to discuss your requirements further, or would like Datalance to investigate a particular application, feel free to contact us.
Based in Northampton, we tend to cover East Midlands and Northern Home Counties - Herts, Beds. & Bucks, but if you are further than this and need help, feel free to contact us and we will try to help - that may mean that we just find someone more local who can help, but we will make sure they are the right supplier and that they understand your requirements.
Our services are reasonably priced and can be success-based if scope and nature of the requirements allow.