So the software company I devote most of my time to has just released an open source version of it's commercial offering. This has maybe opened up the most ginormous can of internal battle worms for me in a loooooooooooong time. It has really made me think of what made me get into this industry in the first place. So what is "free as in beer"? I hear this thrown around a good deal (more in the last couple of months internally). Fron the context, I think most of us can grasp what this is about, but as I've been hearing this in mixed context lately I thought I would dig in a bit further . It seems it's roots are from the first bit of an essay by Richard Stallman.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.
I think this is such a wonderful statement. I think all too often any more we get wrapped up in how free and/or open source software is going to effect our bottom line (the one defined by the no longer almighty dollar) and lose sight of what this can actually bring into our industry. What is it going to take to tilt the scales back in the direction of free as in speech? I mean we're taling about EMAIL here! Shouldn't free as in speech be at the top of what drives our decisions about how we deliver this to our customers? Maybe it's not our place to make that decision for our customers? I guess I feel it is our responsibility to provide these customers with that other thing that goes so hand in hand with freedom, choice. At the very least it is something to think about as we make these decisions.
jb
