@bphuettner @LavaCon The Hidden Cost of “Free” Brenda Huettner
The Hidden Cost of "Free"
Nov 22, 2014
It happens all the time: You find a company offers a free product, or an open source tool that does exactly what you need. But free often comes with associated costs of one kind or another. During this session, we’ll go over some of the most common types of expenses associated with free (such as time, effort, portability, expertise required, and compatibility). We’ll also take a close look at some popular free programs to evaluate first-hand what they might really cost you and your company.
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@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/
@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon
Free Software Foundation Categories
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html
@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon
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.
@bphuettner #CostOfFree @LavaCon
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
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