The Hidden Cost of "Free"

@bphuettner @LavaCon

The Hidden Cost of “Free”

Brenda Huettner

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

14

http://www.homewetbar.com/free-beer-tomorrow-metal-sign-p-1454.html

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaConhttp://www.howtogeek.com/howto/31717/

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Free Software Foundation Categories

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html

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Other Categories of “Free”• Software Trial• Free with Purchase• Freemium• Creative Commons• Shareware• Beerware

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaConhttp://www.theboomerway.com/boomers-blog/there-is-no-such-thing-as-free-lunch

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

Functionality Costs

Pandora Spotify Slacker iHeartRadio

Monthly Unique Users 65.6 million 20 million 4 million 48 million

Launched 2000 2008 2007 2008

Free version available Yes: limited skips, ads, reduced quality

Yes: ads, limited listening time

Yes: ads, limited skippingYes: fifteen combined skips per day, six per hour per station

Paid VersionsPandoraOne: $36/year or $3.99/month no ads, higher quality

$4.99/mo. for desktop & laptop, no ads. $9.99/month lets you use all devices, no ads

$3.99 ad-free, $9.99 custom playlists and full on-demand streaming

No paid tiers

Music Library Size 900,000 20 million 13 million 15 million

StationsCustom stations, supported by Pandora algorithm

Custom, unlimited skippingCustom, 200+ curated stations, 750 terrestrial stations, live talk radio

Custom, 1,500 Live Stations

Excerpted from http://mashable.com/2013/02/13/music-services-compared-2/ by Charlie White

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

Support Costs• Tech Support: Who you gonna call? • Documentation: There are some FLOSS

manuals you can download (or buy)• Upgrades: Well, it depends.

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Security Costs• Privacy Issues• Security of Personal Information• Bonus: malware and trojans included for

free!!

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

Compatibility Costs

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/libreoffice-vs-microsoft-office.html

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Legality IssuesGPL (GNU General Public License)AGPL (Affero General Public License for servers)FDL (GNU Free Documentation License)BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) Creative Commons (6 different ones)

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Legality IssuesExcerpt from the Open Source Definition •The program must include source code•The program must allow modifications•The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software•The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed

– Open Source Initiative www.opensource.org

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City of Munich 2004-2009

http://waste.informatik.hu-berlin.de/Grassmuck/Texts/Limux.html

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References• Open Source Initiative www.opensource.org • Free Software Foundation www.fsf.org • Open Office www.openoffice.org • LibreOffice www.libreoffice.org • LiMux project in Munich

http://waste.informatik.hu-berlin.de/Grassmuck/Texts/Limux.pdf

• FLOSS Manuals www.flossmanuals.org

@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon

Thanks

Brenda Huettnerbphuettner@p-ndesigns.com

@bphuettner