Freedomware?

Freedomware is not intended as a term to replace Free Software or Open Source Software aka FOSS, FLOSS. These terms have their niche and place in society. They are well established and we are all better for it.

The Free Software movement was not created to have mass market appeal it was created to address a serious issue. The right for mankind to use technology and to improve upon it given that the progress is shared freely. Free of charge yes as the very nature of its progress depends on it. But more important is that it is free as in freedom.

Open Source Software on the other hand does have a mass market appeal and was created as a means to maximize the inclusion of various interests professional and otherwise.

Both movements have borders that touch and crossover. They both tend to focus on the ability for software developers to legally modify the code that makes up an application. So in the end these separate movements make perfectly good sense to the market that they appeal to, developers. Now most of us know that FOSS applications are largely developed to scratch an itch. No matter what you refer to it as this ability to legally scratch out a software solution that satisfies an itch is nothing short of amazing. The best part is that some of the greatest minds in the computing realm are actively scratching and as a result made it easier for others to join in on the scratch fest. Inevitably the application grows and become easier to use due to it's incremental design. In fact most of them have become so easy to use that many people who are not developers are beginning to experience the freedom that these various software applications provide.

This is a direct result of a the natural progression and inevitable outgrowth that software developed in this manner has. The fact that the software is free of cost often does not mean enough. After all you get what you pay for in all things right? Ok so we all know better but does Joe and Gina? Nope, they really don't!

Meet Joe and Gina. They are small business owners who dream of being able to get their work done and not have to spend a bunch of their time dealing with shoddy software issues. It just so happens that their dreams are in fact a reality. There are some absolutely perfect software solutions for them that as it turns out are free and open source. Here is the problem the ability to modify the source code is completely lost on them. They are too busy managing and innovating their business. So how can I communicate to them the benefits and deeper meaning behind the freedom this software and its "priceless" nature provides? The significance it has to their business and the future of mankind is substantial. However they are not software developers so the existing paradigms completely fail to speak to them. In the past when explaining what FOSS is to other clients it is almost as though a huge gap opens up in front of us. All they end up hearing is the equivalent of wind whistling through a massive canyon.

Freedomware! The first time I used the term Freedomware in the real world it got the attention of the client I was consulting with. They understood and related with the term immediately. They wanted to know more about it. I showed them the freedomware they could use for their business right away without a major OS shift(yet). I also found that I did not have to explain the deeper meaning. They seemed to understand what it meant in terms of freedom from over bearing and costly licenses. They had heard about Firefox already so I used that brand recognition and built on it. In the end I left them in much better shape than I found them in. It was immediate relief to some major issue they were having. The fact that I just saved them more than $600 was not lost on them either. They are now "clients for life." They are also willing to donate to the various projects that created these freedomware solutions.

So in the end the term Freedomware resonates with a this new group. These people are experiencing freedom in relation to their computing experience for the first time. While they are not developers they are a very real and ever growing group of real people. Who until recently have been relatively overlooked in the FOSS realm. It turns out that Freedomware is to them what Free and Open Source Software may be to you.

We are not reinventing the wheel nor are we asking that Freedomware be used in lieu of Free Software or Open Source Software. We are after all, just scratching an itch! While simultaneously filling the communications gap that exists between the developers and the rest of the world.