Should Big Companies Release Free Software?

[Adam]

Prompted by yet another thread about Microsoft...

Should all we codemonkeys release our software free? I say it should be entirely up to me. If it's just something I did for fun, I may release it free. However, if I spend a couple of years working on something serious, I'll want money for it. If I don't get paid for my work, I won't do such work again. This is only fair.

Now, should we expect large companies to release software free? Why, or why not?

 

[grady]

No one should be obligated to release programs free of cost, that would be crazy. It's your property if you wrote it you can do whatever you want with it.

There wouldn't be any large company if they released their stuff for free because they wouldn't have enough money to hire any programmers or designers.

But these open source programs are community efforts and what's even more crazy is to think of somebody charging for them and not having to pay the contributors. So its sort of natural for most of the open source volunteer projects to be free of cost.

 

[ravenprp]

There is no clear-cut answer to whether big companies should release their software for free. It ultimately depends on the company's business model and goals. Some companies, like Microsoft, rely heavily on selling their software for profit. Releasing their software for free would not align with their business strategy and could potentially harm their revenue.

On the other hand, there are companies that have successfully released free software, such as Google with its suite of online tools. This has allowed them to gain a large user base and generate revenue through other means, such as advertising.

Ultimately, it should be up to the individual company to decide whether or not to release their software for free. It is their intellectual property and they have the right to determine how it is distributed and used. Releasing software for free can also have its own set of challenges, such as maintaining and supporting the software without a direct source of income.

At the end of the day, it is important for companies to find a balance between generating profit and providing value to their users. Releasing some software for free can be a strategic move, but it should not be expected or demanded of all companies.