Free, as in cost - Free, as in thoughts

What does it take to start a blog? Just irritation in this instance.

There are any number of blogs out there I look at periodically on the subjects of open source software, linux, freedoms, intellectual property rights, the nitty gritty of DRM, and what some self-proclaimed pirates are doing about some of all of those subjects.

I'm also sure there's already a lot of response to this post both at the page, and in this format. I'm going to write this anyway, because there are some things I just can't fathom.

"No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful."

That is the first. Ideas are free, unless you patent them. Software starts as an idea that someone spent enough time a love on to get to the point of other folks being interested enough to use it. Sometimes there is marketing involved, but sometimes there's just such a good idea that it spreads of its own accord. If it happens in a larger company, like google, hp, toyota, yahoo, that germ of an idea becomes gmail, or chrome, or orkut. Who remembers orkut? Allright, some of you, but I bet more of your recognize Myspace. Sometimes the marketing is excellent, and sometimes it is just such a good idea you can't hold it in. Where did youtube come from? A fantastic idea that became a shared experience.

The catalyst for many folks who use the internet regularly is making that space in your day to surf the web: read friends blogs, check out the myspace of your favorite band, maybe find out who really sang at woodstock. They see an idea, or share an idea, or create an idea through quickly shared experiences. Somewhere in there someone says, this would be better, if! Lo and behold, theres new functionality in a program, or an entirely new program that folks test out and share around if it works well.

Bringing this back to the thought that no software is free, that's true, making software requires input. It requires the cost in creativity to take a tiny idea and transform it into something you'd recognize how to use. Some folks really would do this for free if they never had to pay bills! It can be incredibly satisfying! So where does the idea that software can't be free come from? You pay for a car to drive it, right? You pay for food and gas, and bicycle tires.

What if rather than thinking of software as a consumable, it is a creation?

Take a house for this analogy. It has many rooms, can be exquisite with all the moulding, built-ins, china cabinets, etc. I've seen a number of beautiful houses. But you don't need to buy a house every time you want to fix the gutters. It seems to me many open source software companies operate on this principle. You build something the first time once. Then to add to it or enhance it, you don't need to buy a whole new liscense! That work was already done, why get paid again for work already done? To put the gutters on the house, there is a much smaller cost, which often a larger company will be interested in, because they get that piece quickly. If it is written open source, often once that piece is done, it is free. Yes, it cost money to make it, but it is done!

So why on earth would someone want to be first to foot the cost of a project they could have for free later? Maybe the initial investment is the first company's, but then each successive addition that adds value to that product another company wants is free to the first company. The sucessive companies get what they need, and the first organization gets additional features they didn't have to pay for!

What about projects noone cares about? I hate to say it, but most everything we do anymore is market-driven. If there is enough interest in a project, it will be done, and if there isn't, it might be done, but a lot slower, and on a person's free time. Eventually even ideas started with little investment become big deals if they are well-implemented ideas.

"This is a world where Windows runs on virtually every computer"

Hm, well, this is true. You can't argue with the truth. :) Or can you! Ask the internet who uses what. Today according to www.w3schools.com, November 2008, 90.6% used Windows, 3.8% Linux, and 5.3% Mac. That's not terribly surprising. Marketing for Apple's products is pretty good, and buying a new pc means Windows is pre-installed and ready to use. The really surprising thing is actually the 3.8% for Linux. Within the last 5 years, Linux went from something only a hard-core geek could use daily to something I showed my grandmother how to use. Why is it grandmothers are always the litmus test? Probably because most of our grandmothers grew up with typewriters rather than blogs.

The key to the above statement is virtually. The computer I'm writing this post from is an example of a Linux laptop. How hard is it to try ubuntu anymore? How many flavors are there really? How hard is it to upgrade your system? What the heck is the difference between Ubuntu and Debian anyway? It used to be only geeks answering those questions. Volunteers here in Portland Oregon in Free Geek's build program can tell you differently. Some of those volunteers are geeks, but they probably weren't when they walked in.

It is because of programs like Free Geek's 24 hour adoption program that they really do help the needy get nerdy, and quickly, too. 24 hours for a free linux machine isn't a lot of time to spend. Even with work and kids, and school, folks are starting to see that they do have options, and those options really can be free. The more folks are interested in using linux, the more development dollars from the larger companies go toward marketing their applications to work on linux. Its working. You can watch movies, stream music, play your ipod, any of this from you linux machine. Which boots faster than a windows machine. Hm, I used to clock them at work for fun. Same machines, one running ubuntu or debian, the other windows xp. Ha! windows lost by a lot (at least double) every time to get to a login.

Before I head off to bed, have you really looked at what you can do for free? Then, once you've looked, have you seen what you can learn for free? It's all out there, waiting for you to find it. Lets see those ideas sparkle into life.