6 ms·

I hate the word "free", it always makes people think of free beer. You can charge $$$ for Free Software and "open source" software. One day I'm going to get p

by omouse 18y ago

I hate the word "free", it always makes people think of free beer. You can charge $$$ for Free Software and "open source" software. One day I'm going to get pissed off enough to start selling the GIMP for $100 or something, just to prove this point. Maybe no one will buy it, but you can do it. And hey, maybe it'll encourage people to "pirate" it and increase the number of users?

gaius 18y ago
This is a great idea. To start the ball rolling, send me $100 and I'll send you a download link, to validate your business model.
- omouse 18y ago
  Okay, gimme your Paypal link :D
  - alain94040 18y ago
    Here you are (put this HTML in your favorite browser, this will enable you to buy something called "Free GIMP" for $100 and upon successful purchase, will redirect you to a download page where you can enjoy your own copy of GIMP). I will post on this forum if you actually purchase the link... <form action="https://www.live.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr https://www.live.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"><input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"><input type="hidden" name="encrypted" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7----- MIAGCSqGSIb3DQEHA6CAMIACAQAxggEwMIIBLAIBADCBlDCBjjELMAkGA1UEBhMC VVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAkNBMRYwFAYDVQQHEw1Nb3VudGFpbiBWaWV3MRQwEgYDVQQK EwtQYXlQYWwgSW5jLjETMBEGA1UECxQKbGl2ZV9jZXJ0czERMA8GA1UEAxQIbGl2 ZV9hcGkxHDAaBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEWDXJlQHBheXBhbC5jb20CAQAwDQYJKoZIhvcN AQEBBQAEgYCldhnGx5mglFFkNgsIKfEUE0lbyUnKyZJQBpdCHPMODtBQSU1kjtS3 mLev2walrHQvXVhAc1unN8OqrLwbN2fd994Fpw8dZZIWPcqWHQK4ACRZF9FBM3ft 3i4z0bs56TrrIN1wqvsl6n9VeX/IF6fNyZRWyeM/KQjJ474T/CeZazCABgkqhkiG 9w0BBwEwFAYIKoZIhvcNAwcECGRSC9Lg5lcUoIAEggaY5gpK5xQAo6IitSvIQFk8 JAdvVxluN3oRbUH8R/lqAJekAekTR8E+x/L3Gp29YTa3s4LujTvlC94QjOCt1fhU BaQHv6OCn9xFuKJ9Q90wjwFNHw6zQIrYQ6jYoi2UssieEx+3PvLzt47Rz5OE6Ap7 o5fcB3fI7ygZSO/wngQieWU67k+f99IjqNZ6d3c92cl3/cBqWG4elLTkqNap3Txr /Atz1wXhtFbanxZyH6rUBKXV/nKZihzj5eWnUP2voCJX5u5ILHmyHfJmTquW+E2v EnwkAqNcBTyiaQEFjCO5Qh26JKOzoHJYG/ZidXOo8H8QPwrNbD2ieK+Sw26cD6iP O0l8rxGf+IhKWjtzXpxZDEHdVzXrt2BFL0F98PRcS35Pn0JSVespZI0Rb0NadaT5 dlLKyqoNfa3UUxDAeYpALgrybWC4BVOoH9SdNBawcuBqrH1Uy/nIDSb2fWqdBy43 DNND4Dlnmgv9DxZBL7qoQM5gz1UhFK+fAVghZgzNSXNnY0pcCciHIHRrO028ziYC IJvQRt5tFYf9x2FmJURt5GbxVIiivzGIk/IOeLfTuUq+Po6rIhGCcpJ2l1AKRlJk ZdicspRXOUmGb41k4VmXPb+MDYbYGT/5xx9W7mTyB3embNuIMMXgwWP0GUFRbpy+ v2+1Ehh44YXFj8SWZCn2kY7CItBUqGkGbtzYrLQ0Ra/iytKMSwxEcK49EXyz3PyA LJtVUS1vBttb308MaZfqU3uFfp/233I3Bk9K2zmt5uTiJ7ewGRLTx0dZ6P0Q7O8c UNgWcAke6Hxv42xZHszvlfYBiUKJln0yyusus22pbaYTLInJPFiGqxAF3puCxVqB ke+2ExieVsc4Q8S4Fct0JTPDtBp+64ZwH7YkhOq4ce6REtT1a6N1FMzGXrTcCZRF aHHAMmNIXeKFZMpYtmOtST6iC0LzLiOv0VCsyDWgRYroyxVfWdkzmIPg2kd8frjt iEtGjgaITDbIpGn6j4jCB0G2Unyaw5BN1FDRJU40ynlnz/QB4X0McK1Y/vKMtg0i qGK970TRP9j02TF7GGs/dtpkc4WtE0A1wFaTA4XrzJHzaujsvRReQAwxUBpEWByi CwyjhKDISfBqbhuORZP6MYkIEq7UiF3OOa4SILQH7eopVj6Pras96nWIAKpO/n8i qK/gZ2MSo8yYngmbEYm8vogbDKVHBre3A5OArD4pIJASzGOb8YWo9BRfAvuKVhFu caGXlop7fvE+QjpGn9JsuhuibILcCO61O7C2lDljG5m5kbwEK4qVvc+0sG5T0bUK WlsWp2IEU3HVAgXzvxWJVGdI710agvCFpkk1k2cH5OoBpe0ERqNu0HsDsgQi+Y+e Q1XihkS4bErZeryug/4HqS9gOnNG+CD4h2DYcJQdScFLUXHOeHKuwfHdwpk+BKXj 2cK7JEpecmYd9T72n/2NH2YiedOwXezod/75yAXRV6ILBBKZdGVatyibgmqH7N+4 0hUWceOCggjglV7046Hi9xyonCRdf86m+06oF0QiEhrNFIpaKVR+geNzbo473KoG 86XLIv8D7gMXLtNYplqf2JHUjHTVtgOGXz3qq+mOPeztq1qjpRfuw1pro2k+WUMr JFXxXAznpn4ana4Q3uPrOI1/+4OAs36gsA9Hw3WM0dC4nkq++4xG38bUDLMMbYKt lRYfXHlxQTqu0YJfLHU3xnR7ojtiijePJ4Qn0ie13YuijSwMruTyRt2ECTtPqtCt AaO3KO7aEXUyRUPiCC47EFCO6I4/VZwJvisuBqavLxowuh1ZnHJE4+kUprzxPWci +4OqZaDEsdcvWxMvHlLsVz1WD/wvFHmN17QUlVLYH5+IzI/ppOfS4PzwFiaL+6jv HGamS0Szs+9E0yGp/fmP1wDj/uk6hz8JN45+gV6DTXQz2psLJEycaN3cTkn90Mti wtXidWLd5Mm9DE9FG6RVgPVmxtCYV0mzMkGXlurPOuFimPb7cXg6O1ELf4LsShU4 BYQWCku+NYkzlVSMcPA04rSbQ9edH04oDxWGRnTpKrbl0dqUTF7FM/Ji8DCWmIgR JUZYsJeVMwK6t6Y0r+T5DwaM4v7WfvCiTMDXQxmaM9KvVsslw8/KOD7au2QFWRl2 k4iuKtlobATE6fboTWXUGpnDlH55x9obi5dqsHRrQxqOz/NKCJkymJY24XfIIQve /cjBCPrUTutlsXXmF6ykBd8zeBqGSma0H6EcBdxFeukaKUH25+rziXQAAAAAAAAA AAAA -----END PKCS7----- "></form>
tptacek 18y ago
The funny part about this is that the comments on the BoS board singled out developer tools as a place where it's impossible to compete with open source; in reality, developer tools are one of the places where commercial open source has been most successful. Just dual GPL/commercial license, like Sleepycat did, and charge the people who ship your code a tax to keep their code closed.
- jimbokun 18y ago
  I also thought of TextMate when the subject of developer tools not making money came up.
  - 10ren 18y ago
    And Joel sells developer tools.
bmj 18y ago
Using the GIMP example...if you put together a manual for Photoshop users on how to use GIMP, you could probably charge $100 for the manual and the software and see some sales. Photoshop is costly, but if your staff is used to Photoshop, the leap to GIMP can be difficult and filled with searches for information. A concrete example: a friend is a project manager at a local design shop. He is a designer by trade, so he knows his way around the Adobe suite. But, his employer doesn't have the budget for another Photoshop license, but I'm guessing they would shell out $100 for GIMP and a "GIMP for Photoshop Dummies" book.
- HeyLaughingBoy 18y ago
  To followup on that idea: pick a particular segment of the graphic arts industry and find what Photoshop features they use that GIMP is good enough at. Then write the manual targeted to them that explains how to use just those features. Also if you change the GIMP UI (god, I hate that thing!) so it's optimized for those tasks, I'm sure you could sell it for at least 1/2 what Photoshop costs.
  - cschwarm 18y ago
    Yes, maybe you could sell one or two or maybe a hundred copies but hardly any more. The more successful your fork, the more likely it's going to be packaged and distributed by the one of the top distributions for FREE. The higher your sales price, the more likely people will buy just one copy and share additional copies among themselves. Now consider the costs: Changing the UI of GIMP seems to be no easy task, otherwise someone would have done it, already. People are complaing about the interface for the last ten years or so. In other words: Yes, you may be able to make revenue by adding features to the GIMP, but you're unlikely to make a profit!
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  This is actually a very good idea.
SwellJoe 18y ago
eBay is full of sellers charging money for Open Source software. They generally use misleading tactics, and use the name of the better known commercial alternative in the title ("Better than Microsoft Office!" for OpenOffice, for example.) I don't think anyone is making a killing on that model, but I could be wrong.
- rms 18y ago
  And you can buy Ubuntu on Amazon: their 79th best selling software. http://www.amazon.com/Canonical-890655001213-Ubuntu-8-10/dp/3937514775/ http://www.amazon.com/Canonical-890655001213-Ubuntu-8-10/dp/...

by omouse 18y ago

gaius 18y ago

This is a great idea. To start the ball rolling, send me $100 and I'll send you a download link, to validate your business model.

omouse 18y ago
Okay, gimme your Paypal link :D
- alain94040 18y ago
  Here you are (put this HTML in your favorite browser, this will enable you to buy something called "Free GIMP" for $100 and upon successful purchase, will redirect you to a download page where you can enjoy your own copy of GIMP). I will post on this forum if you actually purchase the link... <form action="https://www.live.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr https://www.live.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"><input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynow_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"><input type="hidden" name="encrypted" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7----- MIAGCSqGSIb3DQEHA6CAMIACAQAxggEwMIIBLAIBADCBlDCBjjELMAkGA1UEBhMC VVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAkNBMRYwFAYDVQQHEw1Nb3VudGFpbiBWaWV3MRQwEgYDVQQK EwtQYXlQYWwgSW5jLjETMBEGA1UECxQKbGl2ZV9jZXJ0czERMA8GA1UEAxQIbGl2 ZV9hcGkxHDAaBgkqhkiG9w0BCQEWDXJlQHBheXBhbC5jb20CAQAwDQYJKoZIhvcN AQEBBQAEgYCldhnGx5mglFFkNgsIKfEUE0lbyUnKyZJQBpdCHPMODtBQSU1kjtS3 mLev2walrHQvXVhAc1unN8OqrLwbN2fd994Fpw8dZZIWPcqWHQK4ACRZF9FBM3ft 3i4z0bs56TrrIN1wqvsl6n9VeX/IF6fNyZRWyeM/KQjJ474T/CeZazCABgkqhkiG 9w0BBwEwFAYIKoZIhvcNAwcECGRSC9Lg5lcUoIAEggaY5gpK5xQAo6IitSvIQFk8 JAdvVxluN3oRbUH8R/lqAJekAekTR8E+x/L3Gp29YTa3s4LujTvlC94QjOCt1fhU BaQHv6OCn9xFuKJ9Q90wjwFNHw6zQIrYQ6jYoi2UssieEx+3PvLzt47Rz5OE6Ap7 o5fcB3fI7ygZSO/wngQieWU67k+f99IjqNZ6d3c92cl3/cBqWG4elLTkqNap3Txr /Atz1wXhtFbanxZyH6rUBKXV/nKZihzj5eWnUP2voCJX5u5ILHmyHfJmTquW+E2v EnwkAqNcBTyiaQEFjCO5Qh26JKOzoHJYG/ZidXOo8H8QPwrNbD2ieK+Sw26cD6iP O0l8rxGf+IhKWjtzXpxZDEHdVzXrt2BFL0F98PRcS35Pn0JSVespZI0Rb0NadaT5 dlLKyqoNfa3UUxDAeYpALgrybWC4BVOoH9SdNBawcuBqrH1Uy/nIDSb2fWqdBy43 DNND4Dlnmgv9DxZBL7qoQM5gz1UhFK+fAVghZgzNSXNnY0pcCciHIHRrO028ziYC IJvQRt5tFYf9x2FmJURt5GbxVIiivzGIk/IOeLfTuUq+Po6rIhGCcpJ2l1AKRlJk ZdicspRXOUmGb41k4VmXPb+MDYbYGT/5xx9W7mTyB3embNuIMMXgwWP0GUFRbpy+ v2+1Ehh44YXFj8SWZCn2kY7CItBUqGkGbtzYrLQ0Ra/iytKMSwxEcK49EXyz3PyA LJtVUS1vBttb308MaZfqU3uFfp/233I3Bk9K2zmt5uTiJ7ewGRLTx0dZ6P0Q7O8c UNgWcAke6Hxv42xZHszvlfYBiUKJln0yyusus22pbaYTLInJPFiGqxAF3puCxVqB ke+2ExieVsc4Q8S4Fct0JTPDtBp+64ZwH7YkhOq4ce6REtT1a6N1FMzGXrTcCZRF aHHAMmNIXeKFZMpYtmOtST6iC0LzLiOv0VCsyDWgRYroyxVfWdkzmIPg2kd8frjt iEtGjgaITDbIpGn6j4jCB0G2Unyaw5BN1FDRJU40ynlnz/QB4X0McK1Y/vKMtg0i qGK970TRP9j02TF7GGs/dtpkc4WtE0A1wFaTA4XrzJHzaujsvRReQAwxUBpEWByi CwyjhKDISfBqbhuORZP6MYkIEq7UiF3OOa4SILQH7eopVj6Pras96nWIAKpO/n8i qK/gZ2MSo8yYngmbEYm8vogbDKVHBre3A5OArD4pIJASzGOb8YWo9BRfAvuKVhFu caGXlop7fvE+QjpGn9JsuhuibILcCO61O7C2lDljG5m5kbwEK4qVvc+0sG5T0bUK WlsWp2IEU3HVAgXzvxWJVGdI710agvCFpkk1k2cH5OoBpe0ERqNu0HsDsgQi+Y+e Q1XihkS4bErZeryug/4HqS9gOnNG+CD4h2DYcJQdScFLUXHOeHKuwfHdwpk+BKXj 2cK7JEpecmYd9T72n/2NH2YiedOwXezod/75yAXRV6ILBBKZdGVatyibgmqH7N+4 0hUWceOCggjglV7046Hi9xyonCRdf86m+06oF0QiEhrNFIpaKVR+geNzbo473KoG 86XLIv8D7gMXLtNYplqf2JHUjHTVtgOGXz3qq+mOPeztq1qjpRfuw1pro2k+WUMr JFXxXAznpn4ana4Q3uPrOI1/+4OAs36gsA9Hw3WM0dC4nkq++4xG38bUDLMMbYKt lRYfXHlxQTqu0YJfLHU3xnR7ojtiijePJ4Qn0ie13YuijSwMruTyRt2ECTtPqtCt AaO3KO7aEXUyRUPiCC47EFCO6I4/VZwJvisuBqavLxowuh1ZnHJE4+kUprzxPWci +4OqZaDEsdcvWxMvHlLsVz1WD/wvFHmN17QUlVLYH5+IzI/ppOfS4PzwFiaL+6jv HGamS0Szs+9E0yGp/fmP1wDj/uk6hz8JN45+gV6DTXQz2psLJEycaN3cTkn90Mti wtXidWLd5Mm9DE9FG6RVgPVmxtCYV0mzMkGXlurPOuFimPb7cXg6O1ELf4LsShU4 BYQWCku+NYkzlVSMcPA04rSbQ9edH04oDxWGRnTpKrbl0dqUTF7FM/Ji8DCWmIgR JUZYsJeVMwK6t6Y0r+T5DwaM4v7WfvCiTMDXQxmaM9KvVsslw8/KOD7au2QFWRl2 k4iuKtlobATE6fboTWXUGpnDlH55x9obi5dqsHRrQxqOz/NKCJkymJY24XfIIQve /cjBCPrUTutlsXXmF6ykBd8zeBqGSma0H6EcBdxFeukaKUH25+rziXQAAAAAAAAA AAAA -----END PKCS7----- "></form>

tptacek 18y ago

The funny part about this is that the comments on the BoS board singled out developer tools as a place where it's impossible to compete with open source; in reality, developer tools are one of the places where commercial open source has been most successful. Just dual GPL/commercial license, like Sleepycat did, and charge the people who ship your code a tax to keep their code closed.

jimbokun 18y ago
I also thought of TextMate when the subject of developer tools not making money came up.
- 10ren 18y ago
  And Joel sells developer tools.

bmj 18y ago

Using the GIMP example...if you put together a manual for Photoshop users on how to use GIMP, you could probably charge $100 for the manual and the software and see some sales. Photoshop is costly, but if your staff is used to Photoshop, the leap to GIMP can be difficult and filled with searches for information. A concrete example: a friend is a project manager at a local design shop. He is a designer by trade, so he knows his way around the Adobe suite. But, his employer doesn't have the budget for another Photoshop license, but I'm guessing they would shell out $100 for GIMP and a "GIMP for Photoshop Dummies" book.

HeyLaughingBoy 18y ago
To followup on that idea: pick a particular segment of the graphic arts industry and find what Photoshop features they use that GIMP is good enough at. Then write the manual targeted to them that explains how to use just those features. Also if you change the GIMP UI (god, I hate that thing!) so it's optimized for those tasks, I'm sure you could sell it for at least 1/2 what Photoshop costs.
- cschwarm 18y ago
  Yes, maybe you could sell one or two or maybe a hundred copies but hardly any more. The more successful your fork, the more likely it's going to be packaged and distributed by the one of the top distributions for FREE. The higher your sales price, the more likely people will buy just one copy and share additional copies among themselves. Now consider the costs: Changing the UI of GIMP seems to be no easy task, otherwise someone would have done it, already. People are complaing about the interface for the last ten years or so. In other words: Yes, you may be able to make revenue by adding features to the GIMP, but you're unlikely to make a profit!
run4yourlives 18y ago
This is actually a very good idea.

SwellJoe 18y ago

eBay is full of sellers charging money for Open Source software. They generally use misleading tactics, and use the name of the better known commercial alternative in the title ("Better than Microsoft Office!" for OpenOffice, for example.) I don't think anyone is making a killing on that model, but I could be wrong.

rms 18y ago
And you can buy Ubuntu on Amazon: their 79th best selling software. http://www.amazon.com/Canonical-890655001213-Ubuntu-8-10/dp/3937514775/ http://www.amazon.com/Canonical-890655001213-Ubuntu-8-10/dp/...