St. Petersburg Web Design Blog

Is it free?  That’s the most common question.  The answer is: costs has nothing to do with Open source.  It may or may not cost money.  You are free to modify it as you see fit and then do whatever you’d like with it.

The details:

Open source software is really easy to define in geek speak.  It’s tougher to define in plain English because so much of its definition is about terms that most people just haven’t been exposed too.  We’ve been able to explain it successfully to every client that asks so we thought we’d put a this “non-geek’s definition  out there.

• Open Source Software is software that has “Source Code” that  is viewable and editable. This doesn’t sound like much, but it’s huge.  It’s the difference between being able to change the software or not.  IF Windows were open-source, for instance, you could change the way Windows works, making it more secure (or whatever), if you so desired.
• Open source isn’t just about the source code, it’s about distribution.  Open source means it’s released under a license that allows modification and redistribution, as long as they allow it too.
• Open source software is often, but not always free.

What a Business Owner or Exec should be looking for is which license is offered how the terms will effect the business price and use.  We are always glad to offer a summary of the products licenses that we recommend.  the licensing terms are also a large factor in which software we recommend as well too.  The terms must meet the businesses current and future needs and that’s not when you want a licensing problem.

As always I’m sure the community can  help support my efforts in helping others teach our clients the important aspects of our industry.  In other words, add to the discussion by commenting below.  No registration is required and we are a “Do Follow Blog”.

Learn more about specific popular Open Source software licenses.
Learn more about Open Source Software

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