The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Why is it important to go the ‘free’ way?

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Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Why is it important to go the ‘free’ way?

V. Sridhar

September 27 marks the 25th anniversary of the GNU Project initiated by Richard Stallman

Free software offers enormous scope for small and medium-sized companies
Penetration of free software has been much greater in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Bangalore: One of the most misleading aspects of the “debate” on free software — or Open Source software — pertains to what is meant by “free.” Those ridiculing the free software activists — typically dismissed as “the techie types” — portray them as a bunch of folks who just want software to be sold for free.

However, those who passionately advocate free software argue that their emphasis is on free, as in freedom. “Let software be free from the shackles of full-fledged commercial exploitation” seems to be their refrain. It is important to steer clear of the pejorative connotations implied by those who adopt an adversarial stand on free software.

It is also important to distinguish between two different strands within this broad movement. The first are those who stand for “free software.” These are the evangelicals in the software profession who believe that free software represents freedom in the Digital Age. Anivar Aravind, member of the Free Software Users Group, in Bangalore, says: “Free software represents basic rights in the digital domain. Among the freedoms it implies are the freedom to distribute and the freedom to improve software programmes.”

Mr. Aravind explains: “Software like art is another mode of creativity.” In art, for instance, improvements made on existing works results in better and finer art, he argues. Why should it not be the same with software? he asks. He points out that the legal restrictions inhibiting sharing and cooperation among software professionals is particularly ironical given that the modern networks facilitate copying and sharing in online communities. Aravind says: “If software is free it can restore the freedoms that are available in offline fields.”

Anniversary

September 27 marks the 25th anniversary of the GNU Project initiated by Richard Stallman, acclaimed as the father of the GNU Public License, which is also known as Copyleft licences. Stallman was founder of the Free Software Foundation. These enable the free distribution of software licenses. It is important to understand that the term “free” implies freedom to distribute, not that they do not cost anything (although they generally cost a fraction of the price of similar software available from full-fledged commercial sources).

Free software offers enormous scope for small and medium-sized companies, especially start-ups. These companies may be strapped for cash, but they often possess entrepreneurial ability, which is especially useful in knowledge-based industries.

Wiki Ocean, based in Pune, is another company which uses the freedom in computing to great effect as a collaborative tool. It offers solutions to small and medium-sized companies which would have been prohibitively expensive if they would have turned to the regular suppliers in the business. For instance, Wiki Ocean offers Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to clients using open source software. These are not only cheaper but also are more flexible when compared with other commercial options. Activists say that the penetration of free software has been much greater in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They say that the impact has been so great in Tamil Nadu that IAS officers have started using free software-powered platforms. In Kerala, free software has provided the basis for computer education in schools. Karnataka, it appears, can take the same road. That would make the IT revolution more meaningful to the man on the street.

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