Can I make it through my normal business day with free software?
Posted by Mark Parent on Fri, Feb 19, 2010
Everyday after work I come home and see my kids using all these free software applications on the home computer and on their hand held devices. The only thing they pay for is songs (they don't pay for that either because they get gift cards, but that's not the point).
I have spent my life paying for software, either personally or through my employer. The concept of free software seems so strange from a business standpoint. How can people and businesses spend their time creating software that is given away? How do they feed their families? How can this new model be sustainable? Is it all about the community? How loyal are people? Is it that easy to create software that anyone can do it quickly?
My quest over the next month is to survive on only free software and to understand how each one of these providers is structured. The big question I will look to answer is; What is their ability to sustain this new business model?