Open Source: A Good Alternative To Expensive Software?
Posted on October 6, 2008
Filed Under Business Software |
New business owners often struggle with financial issues. There are many expenses that simply must be paid, from marketing tools such as customer leads and advertising, to licenses and certificates. If the company sells a product, then inventory must be bought, and if it hires employees, they must be paid. By the time these nonnegotiable bills are paid, the new business owner may not have much money left. He may be unable to spend hundreds of dollars on office software.
Yet there is always a tradeoff, as quality must not suffer. Documents that appear unprofessional send a message that the company is small, broke, and untrustworthy. It is critical for the new business owner, who does not yet have a solid list of references, to exude professionalism in each and every aspect..
This is where freeware comes into the picture. The concept of freeware has its history in the early days of the personal computer. At that time, computers were hulking machines, much more impressive for their sheer size and mass than for what they could actually do. The self-taught engineers of Silicon Valley were much more interested in perfecting the hardware than in ensuring practical usability for the home market. This opened up a niche for self-taught engineers in other parts of the country who, as they had paid a lot of money to buy these machines, had a vested interest to see what they could make them do. So they made programs and released them to their friends and acquaintances. As they acquired modems and began logging into BBS’s (the precursor to modern internet forums), they began to distribute their programming more widely. Shareware began to develop, in which a program was released for free as a slightly limited version, and by sending a small amount of money (usually $5-$10) to the programmer, the user would receive a code to unlock those features.
Thus an entirely new niche had been born, with a new market created by those tired of spending ever more money on software that still wasn’t without its faults. Freeware designers have stepped up to meet the new demand and their work is admirable, often superior to the paid alternatives. The freeware of today is often provided as “open source,” meaning that the code is openly provided to anyone who cares to use it. This allows any user to add his own twists, and even to release his adaptations for public use.
Freeware programs that are useful for home-based businesses are numerous. Open Office (www.openoffice.org) packages a word processor, spreadsheet and database program with a multimedia presentation program and even a moderately advanced graphics package. Mozilla’s offerings (www.mozilla.com), notably the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird e-mail, are in many regards the best in their field, particularly in stability and safety. Gimp photo editing (gimp-win.sourceforge.net) and Free Accounting Software (www.freeaccountingsoftware.net/default.aspx) complete the basics of what the average home-based business owner should need.
Freeware programs that are useful for home-based businesses are numerous. Open Office (www.openoffice.org) packages a word processor, spreadsheet and database program with a multimedia presentation program and even a truly stunning graphics package. Mozilla’s offerings (www.mozilla.com), notably the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird e-mail, are superior in innumerable ways, particularly in stability and safety. Gimp photo editing (gimp-win.sourceforge.net) and Free Accounting Software (www.freeaccountingsoftware.net/default.aspx) round out the list of what the average home-based business owner should need.
When setting up a new home-based business, owners must take careful stock of their assets and utilize their resources carefully. Freeware offers products that are comparable to costly alternatives, while providing the user with additional customization options and increased functionality.
Michael Hawkins runs the portal Ask Us 1st. Submit your own software related articles in the Computer and software category.
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