Open Source = Free?!?

[z3r0kiLL]

Ok forgive my newbness but I have been using linux for a while and always liked the fact that it was open source and 99% of everything for it was free. I understand that developers work hard on applications but seriously, you are developing for a platform that has strived off of free software for years. Once the android market starts charging for applications that will be the time it become the iPhone and BlackBerry spending 25 dollars for a 400KB application that most of the time took about a month to write. I love the fact that this is open source and everything is free as of right now. I fully support donations for when it is needed to get a project off the ground and when its needed to maintain a project. What is everyone's thoughts on this and do you think Anroid can keep up?

P.S. Did not run spell check sorry for typos.

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Robert
U.S. Navy AIRSpeed Advanced Projects Development

[gbk1]

Water is free but we still pay for it, willingly.

Android will hold its own. The OHA is pretty significant.
'Linux' and 'open source' isn't** equivalent to free in my opinion.
It's choice - limited but, still more for us to pick.

[Gardenwife]

I always took open source to mean that the core code was open for anyone to use and build upon, not that the applications would be free. I believe in paying someone for their work. Obviously, I love it when software is offered free of charge and if it compares to paid software I will likely use it. However, I don't see anything wrong with developers charging for something when they've invested a lot of time into the product.

I am a freelance photographer, mostly for my enjoyment, and have given individuals and companies permission to use my photos in their publications both in print and online, no payment requested. However, I have also sold my photos.

Kind of along the same line, I think a good compromise is found when products are free for home users, but businesses are asked to pay a reasonable fee.

Hope I'm not rambling too much!

[z3r0kiLL]

I do agree with that. Personal users should get it free and charge companies for the stuff.

[gbk1]

Hope I'm not rambling too much!

You managed paragraphs that are easy to read and isn't a chore to look at. Good comparison on software and photography. =P

[momentarylapseofreason]

Ok forgive my newbness but I have been using linux for a while and always liked the fact that it was open source and 99% of everything for it was free. I understand that developers work hard on applications but seriously, you are developing for a platform that has strived off of free software for years. Once the android market starts charging for applications that will be the time it become the iPhone and BlackBerry spending 25 dollars for a 400KB application that most of the time took about a month to write. I love the fact that this is open source and everything is free as of right now. I fully support donations for when it is needed to get a project off the ground and when its needed to maintain a project. What is everyone's thoughts on this and do you think Anroid can keep up?

P.S. Did not run spell check sorry for typos.

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Robert
U.S. Navy AIRSpeed Advanced Projects Development

Open Source does not equal free by any means. Many of the higher end Linux distros are not free. (Though higher end can and will be argued as to it's definition).

[z3r0kiLL]

But you also have the choice of downloading those from linuxiso.org on the web right? When I looked into that same question I was told they charge you for the "publication" of the material not the program itself. Is this true?

[xdavidn88]

Snaps man, hope you better have your flame suit on when all the Devs wake up and read this...

[jmejiaa]

Open source isn't free. Open source means the core code is public. Many companies use Open source software and then charge for it. Depending on what license the open source project has. For example Cysco uses open source code for there Router's.

[jmejiaa]

Ok forgive my newbness but I have been using linux for a while and always liked the fact that it was open source and 99% of everything for it was free. I understand that developers work hard on applications but seriously, you are developing for a platform that has strived off of free software for years. Once the android market starts charging for applications that will be the time it become the iPhone and BlackBerry spending 25 dollars for a 400KB application that most of the time took about a month to write. I love the fact that this is open source and everything is free as of right now. I fully support donations for when it is needed to get a project off the ground and when its needed to maintain a project. What is everyone's thoughts on this and do you think Anroid can keep up?

P.S. Did not run spell check sorry for typos.

-
Robert
U.S. Navy AIRSpeed Advanced Projects Development

Also, some dev's make there living from writing these apps. And the fact that the OS is open source doesn't mean it makes my job easier to do, I still have to start from scratch when I create an app.

Just look at it like this, Java is a freee open source language maintained by sun. Anyone can use Java. Does this mean everything built using Java should be free?

I can guarantee that many of the apps and programs you have paid for use some sort of free open source framework.