Free and open source software helps to connect users with the software that you need.
Open source software and freeware differ in two ways: while freeware is distributed free through a given channel and is used for smaller, less serious commodities, open source software is distributed for free to the entirety of the market and is used for more important enterprises with the intention of seeing development in the software.
Rationale for Free Software
Free software is usually disseminated as a marketing venture, exposing the user to various marketing names or advertisements in an attempt to help firms penetrate various shared markets. For example, certain free applications distributed for smart phone users may contain anything from dating site advertisements to offers for other, more complex applications that cost a fee. Sometimes freeware is distributed as a curtailed version of a proprietary version of the software that promises more options, higher functionality, and the absence of ads.
Rationale for Open Source Software
There are various reasons that firms or developers would opt to release their software as open source. One is that they would like to help develop their product into a comprehensive result of a cumulative review and advancements applied through a substantially larger developer base. Often, this precedes the release of a final proprietary version of the software that integrates both the innovations of the initial developers as well as the general user and developer base on both a national and global scale. Another reason is to penetrate the market by introducing an open source version of a type of software whose market is already dominated by another entity. An example could be the release of Ubuntu as a free, open source solution to counter the prevalence of Windows operating systems and Windows-based programs. This type of maneuver is so effective that even some larger entities, to include the Chinese and Japanese government, have taken to the same methods to battle the dominance of Microsoft over the general platform market.
Yet another reason to release open source software is to simply produce the best version of a product. Usually, open source software results in the most user-friendly, reliable, stable, comprehensive software available. Thus, as a result of a single successful open source release, firms can garner the trust of users in order to entice them to pay for other services. Furthermore, it is possible to have support, documentation, and versions written in binary code that are not free, but would be to the interest of developers and other stakeholders that could potentially profit from such information, such as for learning or developmental purposes. Last, open source software is characterized to have communities that have convened with the intention of facilitating the development of open source software. There are no such provisions available for any other type of software distribution, rendering open source the most cost effective way to get the best possible product as well as the easiest way to distribute it (as these communities would inevitably assist with the distribution of such software as well).
