Everyone loves free stuff, myself included. But thinking of “free” always reminds me of my mother’s cliched saying, “Nothing in life is free.” Well, what about software?
As freelancers, no matter how much money we make, we’re always budget-conscience. Unfortunately, in this day and age of technology, we can no longer get by with just a copy of Microsoft Windows and Notepad. We need software–and lots of it.
I counted over 18 applications that I use daily and that that doesn’t even include the 20+ apps on my iPhone. So, it’s probably safe to say these are all free apps, right? Wrong.
The biggest pro to open source software is obviously the price of free. But, what other pros are there with going open source?
Free almost always comes with a price, although it may not be monetary. There are several drawbacks to using open source software.
Sometimes, a free app gets the job done, and does it well. But, sometimes paying for an app will save you both time and money in the long run.
Purchasing apps can be scary though, as it’s normally a pretty long commitment, especially if you’re short on funds. What if you pay for an app and it stinks or doesn’t work right on your system? Try looking for an app that offers a demo, or even better, a full-featured trial. Ask around for opinions and see what people say.
Paid apps are often better than their free counterparts. If I find a bug or problem with the software, I’m much more likely to get a solution from someone I’ve paid. The act of receiving money for something you’ve done is a huge motivator in how well you take care of the product and its customers. Most apps you come across are less than $100 and easily affordable by the novice freelancer. (Go ahead and shake your fist at Adobe now.)
I came across the problem of finding the right app very recently when looking for a new code editor. There are several free and paid apps to choose from. I couldn’t find an all-in-one solution that was free, so I went ahead and paid for an app. However, had I been looking for a standalone editor, there were several free apps that were just as awesome as the paid ones. It all comes down to what you need and what works for you.
Almost all of my favorite apps are paid apps, even though I normally look for an open source solution first. The interfaces are sleek and well thought out. Most of them are bug free and provide great support. (Except, ironically enough, the most expensive app ever, Photoshop. Shake them fists again for me.)
What have been your experiences in dealing with paid and open source software? Have you found trends between what one has and the other lacks?
My post was originally published on FreelanceFolder. Image by jmarty
About the authorI have over 10 years of experience in coding valid and semantic XHTML, CSS and WordPress that is both clean and SEO-friendly. Also a lover of books, interior design and cheesecake! More »
Copyright © 2010 Amber Weinberg. All rights Reserved. Please don't steal, it's really not cool! But if you'd love to work with me (you do don't you?), please contact me :)
Hey, Amber,
I’m not seeing any article text when the page has finished loading. Not sure if it’s on my end or not.
I think it’s only you. Have you tried refreshing?
Yeah, a few times. After clearing my cache it was fine.
Turns out it was really my proxy at work. LOL
You make a great point regarding cost. As i’ve transitioned from college student to professional, the range of “acceptable cost” has continued to rise.
A lot of times “opportunity cost” and “timesink cost” makes a huge difference in the business world, and while open source or free are many times robust and full-featured, there are also times in which ‘making it work’ because it’s free becomes a huge time sink.
When you don’t have a lot of up-front cash, an open source alternative is extremely attractive. As your available funds grow, and your time shrinks, then something that just works out of the box without a lot of fiddling starts to look a lot more attractive.
(of course, the operative word here is ‘works out of the box’ Sometimes paid apps are just as buggy as open source, and vice versa, so it’s really a matter of doing your research/due diligence)
I quite don’t agree with the point that open-source apps have little or no support. Though, it is a problem with new or unknown open-source software apps, but a wide spectrum of apps have a consistent and excellent support base. Apart from that you have a great community base too.
However, I agree that there is a little risk involved sometimes with open-source products. First, if you’ve not bought support and relying on community forums for help, any unknown issue can hang you anytime and there is no one to take responsibility. This is the major advantage of a closed-source products. If something goes wrong, you can sue the company.
But in the long run, well funded open-source projects will create the mark.
I quite disagree with the idea of open source having little to no support. You mention there being a strong community with open source, and in my experience that community acts as better support than what comes from the company anyway. Think of your recent experience with Adobe! Was that really more responsive than an online forum?
And that’s only considering the commercial apps that come with support. Many apps only offer support with an additional contract. Or only offer support for a limited time with an additional contract. I’ve had requests for support turned down my ecom publishers because I was outside the 14-day free support period. 14 days! After paying $1600 for the software! (well, after my client did)
I’ve done both PHP and C#/.NET development, and a staggering difference between the two communities is that when searching for community (_community!_) based assistance for .NET, most of the sites I found with active communities required a paid membership to access. I have never run across that with PHP development communities.
In regards to community for certain open apps like WordPress, it’s AWESOME. But almost ever other open source I’ve come across have had little or no support (BuddyPress, Joomla, ZenCart etc etc)
I can’t speak for the others, but I’ve been using Joomla for a few years now and haven’t ever had to wait more than a few hours for a response from the community for any problem I’ve run into.
In that sense, I regard the quality of the community as a significant aspect in judging the quality of an app.
I echo your experience of ZenCart though, an app I am NOT fond of. Not Joomla though, I find it has a terrific community. I’ve never tried BuddyPress.
Personally, I think the Drupal community is, hands down, completely spectacular. It’s just about all the support I’ve ever needed. In the end, it almost seems to be a matter of compatibility with your specific needs and personality. I know a lot of people who think Drupal and its community are horrid, and I couldn’t disagree with them more. But if it makes them feel that way then to them it really is.
It should also be noted that with paid apps there is also no guarantee for support, or that a bug will ever get fixed, or that the company won’t go out of business, or that they won’t stay in business but discontinue a particular product or end support for a particular product.
Oh yeah, and with free open source products you are always free to fix the bug yourself (or add that feature you’ve always wanted, or fix that ugly interface, or redo a terrible file structure)!
Okay, I’m sure I’m missing something obvious… but how can I change my photo?
I assume they’re being pulled from gravatar.com and keying off of your email address.
Thanks!
ohh…nice icon LOLOL
the blob fish always makes me smile
It’s like a cross between Ziggy and a muppet, but dunked in slime.
Nice description! I like it because it seems to be in the same mood I am most of the time
In my experience, I’ve had more headaches trying to get support for apps I’ve paid money for over open source apps which, at least with the ones I use these most, provide pretty timely support. I’m more concerned with which app best gets the job done over whether it’s free or not. But, I’m a cheapskate and altruist, so I tend to favor open source whenever I can.
I have used little some open source app because at the end Adobe ones are better being more complete than others, but I have tried some other apps that are cheaper than Adobe ones and delivers good results and some times makes you be more creative since working with them is a bit harder, as an example I love Xara Xtreme (sorry just for PC’s) that uses less resources than Illustrator and is easier to deal with, delivering almost the same quality, Xtreme lacks of functions like the module to make pie charts, histograms and things like that but is not every day need so every one must try new app free or paid and you will find the one right for your needs.
Amber- How about a list of your apps(or your favorites)?
@Jerry, I listed my favorite apps in a post a couple of weeks ago, here’s the link
http://www.amberweinberg.com/8-great-apps-that-every-freelance-developer-needs/
Cool! I queried a search, but nothing came up.
Nice insights Amber,
I believe that in the mind of each user should come first what he is needed or expected from the app and, only after the price.
I would not go into the justification that paid apps are more reliable, that’s not true, most probably they are less probe to bugs, due to dedicated teams working on them, although that doesn’t mean reliability.
I believe that one of the biggest barriers that paid apps find is simply the price, if the software is good and has a good quality/price relation, i believe that the user will buy it.
Personally, i have been a vim addict since ever, although i discovered that textmate, in some projects, boosts my productivity, so i bought the editor. That doesn’t mean that i like paid apps more than free apps, that just means that, i saw a payoff in productivity and the price was affordable.
That were my 5 cents.
Jose
I love open source apps primarily for the fact that you can play with them without having to incur additional costs. Not all paid apps have a free trial option and once you’ve paid, if it doesn’t work in the way you thought, you’re pretty much screwed.
So far I’ve had good experiences with open source support. The ones I deal with most have extremely helpful developers and they also have a forum/message board with other developers that often help answer any questions or address problems. This is something I always look for before I use any apps (open source or paid).
I also feel its important to donate to open source app providers. Not to bribe them into helping you when you need them, mind you, but to help them be able to afford to invest time in future updates and support. Plus it’s good karma =]
There are some apps where you do want to invest a little extra money, but I think it’s all a case by case basis.
I have visited your posts before. The more I read, the more I keep coming back!