5 Ways to Save Money With Open Source Software

Open source software is often free to download and use. The open source model has become so popular that projects both small and large are being developed this way, resulting in viable alternatives to costly commercial software for both home and business.
Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on software? These days everyone is looking to save money. Using some creative thinking and learning a few new tools you can use open source projects to lower your costs.

1. Replace Windows with Linux

New PC's usually come pre-loaded with Windows, so the Windows pricetag can be a hidden cost. You can pay well above $100 or more to upgrade Windows when a new release comes out. Plus, with several versions of Windows available, choosing the right one without overspending can be even more confusing.
Defending against viruses, spyware, and other forms of malware is another hidden cost of using Windows. Spending money on commercial anti-malware products or losing time and data recovering from an infection can both take a toll on your budget.
You no longer need to be a computer wizard to use Linux. The most popular version of Linux today is called Ubuntu Linux and to the naked eye, it looks and operates very much like Windows. Many popular applications you use on Windows like Firefox and Thunderbird are also available for Linux or have similar alternatives (see #2).
Although Ubuntu Linux is not the only version of Linux available, it is a great choice for anyone accustomed to Windows. Unlike Windows, Linux is not a target for viruses and spyware. You do not need to run any anti-virus software or spend money on security products.

2. Find Open Source Alternatives to Commercial Software

Many popular, commercial software products that normally cost a bundle can now be matched by free, open source alternatives. Open source software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Some applications even run on all three. Here are just a few examples:

• Microsoft Outlook users can try using Mozilla Thunderbird.
  
• Microsoft Office suite users can use OpenOffice or LibreOffice for word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation projects.
  
• Adobe Photoshop users can create graphics and edit digital images with The GIMP.
  
• Adobe Acrobat users can create PDF documents for free in Windows using PDFCreator.
  
• Many more alternatives can be found here.
  

3. Combine Open Source with the Cloud

If you are a business, running hosted applications can be very expensive. For example, hosting a Microsoft Exchange server to provide e-mail and scheduling services for a company can typically cost about $5 per user per month. That is $500 per month for a company with 100 users.
Consider one alternative scenario, using the open source Zimbra messaging platform and the Amazon EC2 cloud hosting service. Although EC2 pricing varies with usage, you could reasonably expect to pay less than $500 for the whole year of e-mail hosting using this combination compared to Exchange. Of course, this savings path is not for beginners-you'll need expertise to get the system setup, or pay someone who can, but in the long run the savings can still be substantial.
The same principle could apply to other enterprise services including CRM and even web hosting.

4. Use Asterisk to Create a Corporate VoIP System

Corporations pay good money for sophisticated PBX systems. These telephone networks do everything from route calls to employee extensions, to providing automated voice menu systems for callers, and managing call center support lines. Whether you are a 10,000 employee enterprise, a small business, or just a one-person operation working from home, you can have all the sophistication of a telephone exchange using Asterisk.
Asterisk is free and open source software for developing a business communications system. The software can be intimidating at first, in part because it is not one point-and-click system but a toolbox of features that can be combined to solve different types of scenarios. There are books and expert consultants available to help setup Asterisk, and even though these will cost money, your total expenditure will be much less than any commercial PBX.

5. Have Fun with Open Source Games

Wildfire Games (http://wildfiregames.com/wordpress/media/screenshots/)

Playing the latest and greatest video games can be great fun for you or your kids, but hard on your wallet. At $30-$50 apiece, commercial game prices add up quickly. There is a whole world of free and open source games to keep you occupied (or someone you'd like to be occupied) for a long time.
Despite what some people might think, open source games are not limited to rudimentary graphics. Here are three that easily rival more expensive commercial games:

• Cube 2: Sauerbraten: A first-person shooter with complex graphics in an immersive 3D environment. A fun way to release some tension!
  
• 0 A.D.: Real-time strategy game set in an historical context. Control armies, invade foreign lands, and developer Risk-like strategies to conquer the (ancient) world.
  
• FlightGear: Full-fledged accurate flight simulator with hundreds of aircraft to choose from, ranging from bi-planes to modern jumbo jets. Realistic 3D graphics will make anyone with a fear of flying instantly feel woozy.
  

Windows users can find hundreds more free open source games, from puzzles to card games to racing, to while away the hours without breaking the bank, or even spending a dime.

What is an Open Source License

The heart and soul of any open source project is its open source license. By definition all "open source" projects publish their underlying source code. The source code itself reveals how the application functions.
The open source license describes what you can legally do with the application and its source code. To put it another way, the open source license describes which rights the creator of the project gives to others.
Some of the major rights that open source licenses describe include the right to use, copy, modify, and redistribute. Let's look more closely at each.

Usage Rights

An open source license can describe who can use the software. Examples include:

• Everyone: both personal and commercial users can use the software. In other words, you can use the software in any context including products or services you sell for profit.
• Non-commercial users: only users who are not profiting from use of the software. Commercial for-profit users may be required to pay a fee for a license that allows commercial usage.

Copying Rights

An open source license can describe how you may copy the product. For example, you may be allowed to copy it anywhere you want to use it including your desktop computer, a web server, and so on.
Alternatively, the license can restrict how many copies or in what contexts you may copy the software. For example, you may be permitted to copy the software to your own computers but be restricted from copying it to your clients' computers.

Modification Rights

Open source licenses vary in how they permit you to modify the product:

• A permissive license allows you to:
• Make any modifications to the product you want. You can change the source code to add or remove features.
• Use some or all of the product in another product of your own without fee, even if you sell your product for profit.
• License your product under any terms you wish, such as using a different open source license or making your product closed source.

At the other end of the spectrum, a restrictive license could state:

• You cannot make any modifications to the original source code, or
• You can modify the source code but cannot charge a fee for your modifications, or
• You can modify the source code or use the source code in your own product, but you must re-license your product under the same terms as the original product.

Redistribution Rights

Open source licenses may describe how you can redistribute the software or another product you create that incorporates the original software.
Some examples of redistribution rights include:

• You may be permitted to charge a fee for users to download the product from your web site, even if the product is available freely elsewhere.
• You may be required to provide the source code or other notices to users whether they pay an access fee or not.

Real World Licenses

In the real world there are more than 70 open source licenses in use. These licenses range from the most permissive to the most restrictive and everything in between.
In practice a handful of open source licenses are the most popular. These are the licenses you will most commonly encounter using open source products:

• GNU General Public License (GPL V2 and V3)
  The most popular open source license. Allows for liberal usage, copying, and modification. But products which redistribute GPL software must themselves be licensed with the GPL.
• BSD License
  A very permissive license that allows most rights, as long as any redistributed products includes a copy of the license.
• Apache LicenseAlso a permissive license but with terms that specify how credit must be attributed.
• MIT LicensePerhaps the most permissive license, allows anyone to do anything as long as they include a copy of the license text.

Using Open Source Software

It is tempting to think of open source software as simply "free". But whenever you use an open source product be sure to check that its license allows the type of usage you need.
In particular, creating or selling a commercial product that uses open source software in violation of its license can lead to legal problems that may result in time and expense re-working your project. You can avoid this problem by understanding the open source license and choosing products that use an open source license which is compatible with your usage.