# LANGUAGE translation of https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/software-libre-commercial-viability.html # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc. # This file is distributed under the same license as the original article. # FIRST AUTHOR , YEAR. # #, fuzzy msgid "" msgstr "" "Project-Id-Version: software-libre-commercial-viability.html\n" "POT-Creation-Date: 2021-09-22 09:26+0000\n" "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n" "Last-Translator: FULL NAME \n" "Language-Team: LANGUAGE \n" "Language: \n" "MIME-Version: 1.0\n" "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=CHARSET\n" "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n" #. type: Content of: msgid "" "Software Libre and Commercial Viability - GNU Project - Free Software " "Foundation" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h2> msgid "Software Libre and Commercial Viability" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><address> msgid "by Alessandro Rubini <a href=\"#rubini\"> <sup>[*]</sup></a>" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "<i>Nov 12th 1998, published in February 1999</i>" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Fortunately, Linus' project of world domination is going to come true fairly " "soon. The trend toward this goal can be verified by checking how the press " "is behaving towards GNU/Linux solutions, looking at how several educational " "entities are going to introduce free software in the schools and verifying " "its usual technical excellence." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Today in 1998 (yes, it is still 1998 as I write), the most important job " "remaining, in my opinion, is propagating the social and commercial " "implications of free software. While I greatly appreciated Russell Nelson's " "article “Open Source Software Model” in the July issue of " "<cite>LJ</cite>, I feel the need to expand on the points he briefly touched." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Please note that I'm not an expert in economics or politics. I'm just a " "build-it-yourself kind of technical guy whose discussion is based on his own " "experience in the battle for survival, in the hopes of helping someone else " "adapt to new environmental conditions. Some of these ideas have already been " "discussed with friends or on the Free Software Business mailing list, <a " "href=\"mailto:fsb-subscribe@crynwr.com\"><fsb-subscribe@crynwr.com></a>, " "which I joined after reading Russell's article." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h3> msgid "Viability for Individual Consultants" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "The best feature of any computer system is flexibility—allowing users " "to tailor its behaviour to their own needs. This flexibility is often " "completely unknown to the general computer user, because proprietary " "software solutions tend to hide functionality behind a rigid external " "interface which denies any divergence from the expected behaviour—a " "<i>user's</i> behaviour." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "When adopting free software, users are able to discover the real power of " "computer systems. Today I talked with a commercial consultant who never " "thought that programs could be adapted to one's needs. He confessed his " "company has always acted the other way around—they adapted their needs " "to the software they use. Most users are victims of their software and don't " "even realize it." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Educating the user base about the extendibility of software will open new " "markets to independent consultants, creating new employment " "opportunities. Every user has different needs and solving these needs often " "means calling for technical support from people who tailor or enhance the " "relevant software. While this is not even imaginable with proprietary " "programs, source availability allows any problem that might arise to be " "quickly solved and new features to be easily added. While you may think this " "would quickly lead to a <i>perfect</i> software package, individual needs " "are so diverse and specialized that a package can't satisfy everyone." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "For example, I and others wrote a program for a local physiology center to " "analyze data for a typical kind of experiment. During two years of use, the " "physicians found so many ways to enhance the program that it is now reported " "as better than the commercial solutions. The total of all fees they paid " "during these years reveals the program to be more expensive in the end than " "some of the commercial alternatives. This fact is not relevant to my " "clients, as they have exactly what they want and they know they can have " "more should the need arise. The program is obviously free software and other " "centers expressed interest in getting a copy." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "As more and more people are choosing free software to address their needs, " "I'm sure some software companies will try to demonize GNU/Linux and both the " "free software and the Open Source movements because they are losing their " "own market share. Such companies will probably try to demonstrate that IT " "employment is decreasing and that humankind is being damaged by the general " "adoption of free software. This whole argument is bogus; computers exist to " "be programmed, and the more you allow programming them, the more you build " "employment opportunities. If you count the number of people who offer free " "software consulting, you will greatly exceed any shrinkage of proprietary " "companies. Sticking to my previous example, the physiology lab hired my " "company to write the program, and other centers interested in the product " "are willing to hire a local consultant for installing, maintaining and " "enhancing our package. Did I say “enhance”? Isn't the program " "working? Yes, the program is working well, but there <i>is</i> room for " "enhancement of the product. The local lab decided to stop development " "“because we must run our experiment rather than invent new software " "features.” As anyone knows, every program has a bug and a missing " "feature, and this is where we build our credibility: bugs <i>can</i> be " "fixed and features <i>can</i> be implemented. As I suggested before, the " "more you make things programmable, the more they will be programmed." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Why should there be more employment opportunities in IT than there are now? " "First of all, because free software users have more requests for new " "features than users of proprietary products do, as explained above. Next, " "because anyone can build her own professionalism without paying tributes to " "access the sources of information. I built my own expertise by studying " "source code and trying things out on my own low-end PC. Now I am confident I " "can solve any problem my clients might have, and my clients know I can " "(provided I am given enough time to deal with the problem)." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Another critical point in addition to source availability is standardization " "on file formats, a field where proprietary products are revealing their " "worst features. Let's imagine an environment where every file format in the " "system was known: you could, for example, create indexes from any document " "that is produced, thus easing later retrieval. This can be accomplished " "off-line without any load on non-technical personnel. Asynchronous reuse of " "data is “rocket science” for many users, because they are " "accustomed to programs that use proprietary file formats (and operating " "systems with no real multi-tasking or “cron” capabilities). As " "soon as free standards are adopted, users begin asking for customizations " "and are willing to pay for anything that will increase their productivity. " "Moreover, free standards guarantee that customers are not making the wrong " "bet, as they won't ever be stuck with unusable data if the software market " "changes." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "While the conventional model of software distribution concentrates all " "knowledge in a few companies (or one of them), open standards leverage " "technical knowledge to anyone willing to learn. Whereas a proprietary " "product can be supported only by a limited number of qualified consultants " "(whose number and quality is centrally managed), the number of consultants " "supporting a free software solution is virtually unlimited and the offer can " "quickly adapt to the request." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "In a world where computers are just tools to accomplish some other goals, " "easy customization and quick maintenance are basic requirements of power " "users. In my opinion, free software will quickly gain the trust it needs to " "be a real market phenomenon. As soon as you start to trust some free " "software products, you learn that they deserve more. GNU/Linux fans must be " "ready to offer support in order to fulfill the upcoming need for " "consultants." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h3> msgid "Viability for Support Companies" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Obviously, independent consultants don't cover all the needs of computer " "users. Several activities can't be handled by individuals. Red Hat and " "S.u.S.E. are demonstrating that creating and maintaining a distribution can " "be a good source of revenue even when the product is freely " "redistributable. Debian-based efforts are on the way, although less " "advanced—mainly because both Red Hat and S.u.S.E. bundled proprietary " "products with libre packages in order to survive while the market share was " "low, while Debian has always been completely detached from proprietary " "products, and still is." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "In addition to “creating and packaging” or “collecting and " "packaging” jobs, companies can specialize in technical support, " "covering the situations where computer systems are of critical " "importance. Big business realities using computer systems in their " "productive environment won't be satisfied with either the external " "consultant or the in-house technician. They need to rely on an external " "structure that guarantees round-the-clock operation of their technological " "aids." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Even if GNU/Linux or any other operating system is demonstrated to be " "completely reliable, power users will need to rely on a support company as a " "form of insurance. The more important computers are for a production " "environment, the more people are willing to pay to be reassured that " "everything will go on working and to have someone “responsible” " "to call in case of any failure. Such a “power user” support " "contract could also include a provision for refunds in case of down " "time. Big support companies will be able to efficiently deal with it, and " "clients will be happy to pay high rates even if they never need to call for " "assistance." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "In short, I see no need for software companies to keep exclusive rights on " "their products; the support environment is big enough to offer good business " "positions in Information Technologies. Those who want to be at the top could " "use some of the revenue to pay for Free Software development, thus gaining " "access to the best software before anyone else and associating their name " "with software products. As a matter of fact, this practice is already " "pursued by the big distributions." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h3> msgid "Viability for Education Centers" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Needless to say, schools and universities have the best interest in teaching " "information technologies using free software tools. Due to its technical " "superiority, free software environments have more to offer to the students, " "but also need more technical knowledge to be proficiently administered. I " "see no money saved here in choosing Free operating systems over proprietary " "ones, but educational entities could better spend their money on hiring " "system administrators than on subsidizing some already-too-wealthy " "commercial software company. While my country, Italy, is stuck with a few " "rules that offer more support for buying things rather than for employing " "people, other countries are already moving in the right " "direction—Mexico and France, for example, have announced plans to use " "GNU/Linux in their public schools." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "One more point leads toward free software in education: when students get " "jobs, they prefer to use tools they learned at school in order to minimize " "extra learning efforts. This fact should lead colleges to teach only those " "tools not owned by anyone—those that are libre. Schools should teach " "proprietary software only if two conditions apply: no viable alternative is " "available, and the company that distributes such software <i>pays</i> the " "school for teaching its product. Paying someone for a product in order to " "advertising it for him is definitely nonsense." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h3> msgid "Social Issues" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "A few social issues relate to choosing one software model over another " "one. Although I mark them as social, they have economic implications as " "well." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "While free software may not be cheaper than proprietary software if you bill " "for your own time, some environments use different rates in converting time " "to money. Most emerging countries have good intellectual resources but " "little money, and they usually have many not-so-new computers as " "well. Proprietary operating systems are unaffordable for them, but free " "solutions are viable and productive. Actually, the “Halloween” " "document supports my point by underlining that “Linux” is " "growing very fast in the Far East. Charity organizations usually have this " "same environment—little money and a good amount of human " "resources. This leads straight to the free software model for any IT " "requirement." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "These ideas will probably suggest that free availability of information " "looks fairly leftist in spirit, as “information to the masses” " "looks quite similar to the old adage “power to the masses.” What " "is usually ignored is the strong rightist flavour of the free software " "movement. The free software arena is fiercely meritocratic and a perfect " "environment for free competition, where the laws of the market ensure that " "only the best ideas and the best players survive. Proprietary standards, on " "the other hand, tend to diminish competition by decreasing innovation and " "consolidating previous results." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><h3> msgid "Limits of the Free Software Model" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Naturally, I'm aware that not every software package can easily be turned " "into free software. I'm not talking about office products—I'm " "confident some good projects will supply this need, sooner or later." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Rather, I'm talking about all environments where a strong competition exists " "for a product only loosely based on its software component. For example, " "industrial equipment might include a computer and some commodity hardware (a " "robot, custom I/O peripherals, <abbr title=\"Programmable logic " "controller\">PLC</abbr>s, etc.); the software application hosted in the " "computer is a minor part of the whole, but its features greatly affect the " "overall value of the equipment. Producing and debugging such applications " "usually require huge investments; free redistribution of source code is thus " "prevented as a form of protection against competitors." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Another meaningful example is cell telephones. They include a lot of " "software, even though this software is almost invisible to the end user, who " "perceives the device as a telephone and not a computer. Such software is the " "component that defines the overall capabilities of the device; because of " "its major functional role in the device it is strictly proprietary." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Unfortunately, I see no easy way to liberalize this type of code. Although " "I don't care too much about cell phones (I don't use them :), I would really " "like to see free industrial applications because their technological content " "is usually worth reusing and adapting to new problems." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "[*] Alessandro writes free software for a living and advocates free software " "for a mission. He hopes his upcoming child will keep off computers, " "recalling the good old times when such beasts where confined to their " "technical zoos. He reads e-mail at <a " "href=\"mailto:rubini@gnu.org\"><rubini@gnu.org></a>, trying to reply " "to everyone." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "Reprinted with permission of <cite>Linux Journal</cite>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't have notes. #. type: Content of: <div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S NOTES*" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a " "href=\"mailto:gnu@gnu.org\"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a " "href=\"/contact/\">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and " "other corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a " "href=\"mailto:webmasters@gnu.org\"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, #. replace it with the translation of these two: # #. We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality #. translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. #. Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard #. to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> # #. <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> # #. <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of #. our web pages, see <a #. href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations #. README</a>. #. type: Content of: <div><div><p> msgid "" "Please see the <a " "href=\"/server/standards/README.translations.html\">Translations README</a> " "for information on coordinating and contributing translations of this " "article." msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "Copyright © 1998-2001 Alessandro Rubini" msgstr "" #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "" "Verbatim copying and redistribution of this entire article are permitted in " "any medium provided this notice and the copyright notice are preserved." msgstr "" #. TRANSLATORS: Use space (SPC) as msgstr if you don't want credits. #. type: Content of: <div><div> msgid "*GNUN-SLOT: TRANSLATOR'S CREDITS*" msgstr "" #. timestamp start #. type: Content of: <div><p> msgid "Updated:" msgstr ""