Open source or freeware

I grow cucumbers. When I use Open Source licence then I am cultivating cucumbers with other farmers, we share harvest and seeds. But when I am more like freeware oriented then I only share the crop, but keep the seeds.

First approach lets the farmers to develop the best cucumbers the world has ever seen, everybody is working together to get the same goal, sometimes different farmers develop their own variety but its good because then everybody learns from it. At the same time when you develop totally different product then you can use it as it were your own.

Second approach only the main breeder decides what happens to the cucumbers seeds and when he/she is not very interested about developing the product then we might never know how well would piece of cucumber taste on the dark bread in a warm summer evening. As the farmer gives out free food we can try to develop our own cucumbers but sometimes it’s not enough and we just have to wait and hope that the farmer is motivated to share.

Advantages or disadvantages of one or the other comes down to cold windy summer when the yields are weak then community of farmers will start to develop solutions and breed new species that are resistant to wind and rain and will flourish in a drying sun or are less demanding, more durable. Other farms sadly can come to solution that whole business should be shut down.

The market of Open Source and freeware lies not in a product itself, because it’s free in both cases, but these people who develop side products or provide other additional services like farming for the owner, irrigation system, pest control or other supporting systems for growing the products. In freeware case the giver can package cucumbers in a nice package with a add or ask donations, or sometimes the farmer just gives away rubbish or only small pieces just to get the attention to his/her name to sell the real product.

So what to choose – it all depends. People who can grow good cucumbers and have their own market don’t have motivation to share seeds with others, but when you are poor farmer or you have idea how to sell different products or services then you can let the seeds free and see what happens. Either way you have provides people some free enjoyment what they have never experienced when they have to buy stuff with the bag on their head.