| |
| |
|
|
Software Information |
|
|
|
Open Source Concepts: Dual Licensing Explained
We were recently faced with a decision: either to let a program that took us one year to code die, simply because we do not have enough time to maintain it, or make it open source. Open source looked like a good idea for while, but there was one problem. We wanted to keep the software under our control and to be able to make money selling it later. And let us just be honest and admit it: we wanted monopoly over our software and why not? It took us one year to write the software, and its documentation. Yeah we believe in 'Free Software', but who works for free. Free software can never be successful in the long run, if there is no way to make money. Dual Licensing and GPL: Then we said to each other: 'Hey, RedHat and MySQL are open source. Still they make lot of money. How?" The answer lies in the strategy known as 'Dual Licensing'. It is very simple. The Open Source company first has to copyright the source code, and then make it available to public. Now, since the company owns the source code copyright, it can distribute it under two different licenses: one open source and the other commercial. The open source license in such case will almost always be GNU GPL (General Public License), which allows anybody to modify the source code, redistribute it and incorporate it into other projects. However, there is one catch (a big, and annoying catch). The restriction is that any project that uses GPL'd code must also be released under the GPL license (GPL, we believe, works like a virus. It keeps on spreading). Which simply means (regarless of what open source ativists tell you), you cannot sell the GPL'd code or any project that incorporates it for profit. For that purpose, you will have to offer a commercial license. Some well known companies that use Dual Licensing are: RedHat Inc, MySQL, AB., Sleepycat among many others. These companies one hand attracts people and developers who want to move the Open Source movement, and on the other, they want to make some serious money with dual licensing. Let us look at an example: a guy was creating a commercial database application that was intended to bring him some cash. He used MySQL database at the backend, thinking it was free. He later found out that he violated the GPL license that MySQL uses. Anybody is restricted from distributing an application that uses GPL in modified or unmodified form unless the whole project is licensed under GPL. So that guy was left with no choice, but to buy commercial licenses (based on per copy) from MySQL, AB. Is Dual Licensing Evil? Yes. But there is nothing wrong with it. If no product revenues are coming in, the project will eventually die or will always be in a very bad shape (a lot of open source evangelists might try to contradict us and compare open source with religion, which it is not). In other words, if a guy is not making money from a project why in the hell would he keep supporting it. An example of one such software is PuTTY (with apology to Simon Tatham). Even though it is immensely popular, it still leaves a lot to be wished for. The User Interface is meager, the documentation is of low standard and there is no (customer) support. Strange for a very popular software. Now if PuTTY was released under dual license, it might have been a lot different than it is now. The PuTTY company would have expanded, hiring new people and giving customer support. That did not happen and the result is that PuTTY is not used in large corporations who prefer commercial software with customer support and someone to blame if anything goes wrong. For example, Vandyke SecureCRT, Whitehorn Secure Terminal or Celestial Telnet are some popular commercial SSH clients. So you mean Open Source is bad? Why people go open source then? No. It is not. The number one advantage of open source is that it can cut the development time by as much as 50%. The other reason why people go open source is to make sure that project will always stay alive with the help from development community (many commercial software applications die in their first year). Some people participate in open source development just to make a name for them. The bottom line is that Dual Licensing is not as evil as many people think it is. It is the only way to go if you want to make money from your open source project. We would like to end this article with a line from the infamous 'Open letter to hobbyists' written by Bill Gates: "Nothing would please me more than to be able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software." DISCLAIMER: All information given in this article is provided on 'AS IS' basis. The author's do not assume any responsibility for any consequences and do not swear that the information given in this article is accurate. This article is not affiliated with any organization. This article can be distributed and redistributed as long as Author's names are not changed and the original text remains intact. Ali Mansoor (malimansoor@hotmail.com) has written several famous commercial applications. Umer Mansoor (umer.mansoor@gmail.com) spends most of his time programming or thinking about money making schemes. He is inspired by his Dad, God, Microsoft, and more recently, Google. Visit his open source project page at: http://www.pegsol.com/newdesign/development.htm Note from the authors: No we are not nerds or geeks and we define FREE as in 'free beer', not as in 'free speech'. Cheers..
MORE RESOURCES:
Software - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Implementing Microsoft CRM: setup and configuration - notes for IT specialist Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is web-based CRM application, deploying all the spectrum of recent Microsoft technologies. We'll try to analyze different needs and implementation scenarios attributed to specific industries and business types, based on our experience. How to Get The Best Accounting Software For Your Small Business Buying accounting software is a major investment. It's an important decision and you need to be sure of all the facts before you buy. Screenplay and Script Writing Software When it comes to screenplay software each screenwriter needs to determine what they need from the program they purchase and pick one that fits their specific needs. Screenwriting software doesn't write the screenplay for you. Lotus Notes Domino and Microsoft CRM Integration Well, even if the combination might look very unusual, we see the coexistence of these two systems, especially in large corporations, non-profit organizations. Technically Lotus Notes Domino has parallel structure, including Domino email server. Microsoft eCommerce Web-development: Great Plains eConnect .Net - Highlights for Programmer In our small article we'll consider Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains Sales Order Processing module as eCommerce backend. Plus we'll cover what is possible and impossible in eConnect and why. OS 101: Suggestions for Choosing an Operating System An operating system (abbreviated OS) is essentially the path through which a computer accesses files, games, the Internet, and all vital stored information. The OS is the most important program on a computer because it runs all of the other programs. Navision Sales Module & Reporting: Jet Reports, C/ODBC, XBRL, Business Analytics - highlights Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with Great Plains Software. Now Microsoft Business Solutions offers the following ERP applications: Navision (former Navision Attain), Microsoft Great Plains (former Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise), Solomon, Axapta. The Truth about Colossus: Are You Just A Magnetic Image? What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance companies to aid in predicting the settlement value of claims. The insurance industry maintains it is a useful tool because it considers a great many factors, and the settlement values are just a range for use in any way the insurer wishes. When is a Software Engineer Not a Software Engineer? The title of "software engineer" has got to be among the most highly abused in the corporate high-tech world. It's also one of the most popular. Microsoft Great Plains customization - Freight Forwarding/Transportation industry example Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains version 8.5, 8. Instant Messenger Clients If you have been using the Internet for any amount of time you have probably used an instant messenger at some time or another. They allow you to talk to your friends, family and co-workers with the click of a button. Basic Steps To Optimize Your Internet Security After seeing many people complain about their weak Internet security I decided to write down some things that will help you for your Internet security.First, here are some tips to make windows safer :For basic security and update patches install Service Pack 2 for Windows XP or Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000. Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Verticals - Wholesale Order Entry center - overview Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share and strong support by Microsoft on the US market. Currently we see the trend in the vertical markets when companies with custom-built accounting application, usually written on legacy platform are switching to standard and proven ERP solution and customize or tailor it to fit their vertical market requirements. Two Reasons to Use Timesheet Software This short paper will expand on two key reasons to move to a computerized timesheet system at your company. There are more than two reasons of course, but these will be expanded on at a later date. Microsoft Great Plains - Typical Problems And Fixes - Overview For IT Administrators How to delete the user? This is the first problem you encounter - when user shuts down the computer - Great Plains doesn't have the command to log off the user and when user tries to login the next day - she gets error message that user is already logged on. The fix: Microsoft SQL Server - open SQL Query Analyzer, switch to DYNAMICS database and run the following script: DELETE ACTIVITY WHERE USERID='KATHY'. Microsoft Great Plains: If You are Orphan Client - What to Do and FAQ Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software eEnterprise, Dynamics and Dynamics C/S+ is very popular ERP and since 1994 has been successfully implemented for mid-size and mid-size to large companies in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Middle East. During the economic recession time 2001-2004 the majority of businesses cut to virtually zero their IT/computer support expenses and stayed with hardware and software. Make 2005 the Year You Save Time! Today's business world is fast-paced. No matter what it is you do, finding a way to do it better and faster makes sense. What is a Document Manager without Version History? Document Manager and Version HistoryIn previous articles I have discussed the usefulness of a document manager, such as groupware, in organizing document sharing. I have also discussed the role that a Version History plays in a good document manager. Database Guru James F. Koopmann Reviews DBxtra Reporting and Query Tool DBxtra is a powerful query and reporting tool that hides many of the complexity and technical expertise required for creating connections to disperse data sources, building queries, designing reports, and delivery information throughout an enterprise or to your customer base.With the ability to connect to multiple databases or data sources at the same time, DBxtra allows for cross platform data aggregation and the ability to answer questions that would typically take IT time to migrate data into a single reporting database. Great Plains Dexterity Development: FAQ Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is Dexterity-written application and currently we see increased interest for Great Plains customers to do in-house Dexterity development and customization. Dexterity itself is written on C programming language and its initial architecture was based on the Graphical and Database platform independence, which C programming language was believed to provide.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
