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Free from the monopoly

Micro, small, medium and great companies don't use the called proprietors softwares any longer and migrate to the free softwares, trying to reduce costs.

Many are the reasons that lead a small business company or even a conglomerate to opt to change of its operational system and other proprietor programs used in its computers, for free software. The two main ones are the necessity of reducing costs and the lower risk of piracy. The proprietor software is that computer program that has its source code closed, in other words, its logical instructions cannot be known, modified or copied.

They have owner. They are copyright. For comparison effect, we could say that it is the same that eating a cake without knowing which ingredients the cook used. The most famous "cook" of proprietor software is Microsoft, which creates the new versions of these programs and establishes its price.

Now, the free software is that one that has its source code opened, that is, it can be modified and copied freely. Therefore, its instructions belong to nobody. It is a cake without secrets. In this case there are a lot of "cooks" or developers of software. It is effectively an open community that today counts on 400 thousand programmers spread for the whole world that use the Internet to communicate. Any common person or legal entity that wants to participate is welcome. The most known free software is the operational system Linux

Prices and licenses

To have an electronic system, any company must install in each one of its computers at least two types of programs (softwares): the operational system and the applicatory ones. Lets take as example the Microsoft products. The operational system is the Windows and the basic applicatory ones come in the Microsoft Office package, whose contents are Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access. All of them are destined to the automation of the office services.

These days, the cost of the last version of Windows, a XP, can reach the value of R$ 955,00, that added to the average price of the Office Package, of R$ 1.809,00, reaches the high amount of R$ 2.764,00. Now, imagine this value multiplied by the number of computers that exist in a company. "It's true that the manufacturers of proprietor softwares try to bright this situation up making promotions. As much more the amount of programs acquired, much less is the price. But it's not enough", says Jesimiel de Oliveira, owner of Seluque Equipamentos Ltda, that migrated to Linux about two years ago.

The fact is that the price of proprietor softwares is basically composed by a minimum value, referring to the cost of copy and distribution, and a sufficiently high value, referring to a license of use permission. This license is the responsible to make the proprietor programs expensive. Therefore, when acquiring a software of this nature, the user doesn't become owner of the work, he is paying for a license of use, not in an exclusive way and he won't be able to make use of its logical instructions contained in the source code and much less to copy them, even if it is for another computer of its own use. That's where the piracy risk drifts.

Updating

Another problem lived by both entrepreneurs and the governmental bodies in all the instances, is the obligator updating of the applicatory systems. Along the time, new versions of programs appear that, generally, aren't compatible with the previous ones. If all the market is using the last version, the files worked in the computers of a company or public institution that uses older applicatory won't be read by the computers of its customers, partners or even contributors. "This was one of the reasons that led us to install free software at the electronic centers built in the city of São Paulo", João Cassino explains, secretary of the general coordination of the electronic government of São Paulo capitol.

The electronic center or Presence Electronic Points (PEP) are rooms with 20 computers working with free softwares and connected to the broad band Internet, where any person can participate at computer science courses our surf on the net.

Nowadays, they are installed in 19 points of the city, the most of them are in the suburbs and attend 62 thousand people a day. It was an initiative of the Electronic Government Coordination that develops this project since the beginning of the last year and intends to fight the digital exclusion, making possible easy and free access to the low-income population. "We left spending 2,5 Real million in licenses for the Microsoft. Why will we send this money to Seatle (city headquarters of the company in the United States), if we have so many problems to solve here ", clarifies Cassino.

The reason to cite specifically the Microsoft is that all the applicatory systems, of highly spread out usage, are manufactured and monopolized by it. And as a detail, the operational system Windows don't accept free softwares. Therefore, who chooses to use a proprietor platform (operational system) only can install applicatory of the same nature and if he needs new versions he will have to pay the established price.

That's why Jesimiel de Oliveira, decided to migrate to Linux platform and work with free applicatory. "The cost of the licenses that we needed reached almost 20 thousand Real, without counting what we would spend later to bring up to date our 10 computers. For the installation of Linux, in all of them, including the official program, the manpower and the applicatory ones, we spend, in the occasion, R$ 1,500.00.

By the Internet

In fact, all the softwares possess license. However, in the case of the free programs it is used GLP (General Public License). It establishes that no user can add or create restrictions to deny other people the freedom to copy, to adapt, to modify or to redistribute software. However, this does not restrict the commercialization of these programs. Any person or company can charge its cost of copy, packing or distribution. A value that normally is low and only exists if the software is acquired in a store or bought from some friend.

Practically, all the free programs can be found and copied by the Internet. In this in case, the proper user makes the installation or uses the services and has technician support of some company. By the way, there are a lot of companies that develop free softwares. One of them is Conectiva. According to its director of products and solutions, Rodrigo Stulzer, the companies gain money giving technician support, courses of corporative training for use of these programs, selling and developing emend and developing many specific softwares, personalized that supply the necessities of a specific company. In this last hypothesis, the creation work is the only thing that is charged. "The advantage of the free programs is that the person doesn't depend on an only developer", he comments.

In a general way, all the applicatory systems of more spread out, as the texts editor, the calculations spreadsheets, the databases and others, possess versions in free software. As the Open Office, that possesses similar functions to the Microsoft Office. Moreover, Linux has the advantage to accept and to convert archives that come from proprietor programs. Stulzer adds that, if the user wants to make the installation of Linux alone and has doubts, he can count on the help of the community.

José Luis Dadário, director of special projects of information technology from Vésper, which also has migrated for the free programs, stands out that the "community is very active, as much to develop new solutions, as to correct existing problems of programming. It is preventive and the development is collaborative." "Each one makes a little", he adds, mentioning the rapidity that the problems are solved and to the little incidence of virus in Linux environment. After all, there are 400 thousand people working stimulated by the growth of the number of users. Moreover, it's also possible to make a "dual boot ", in other words, having in an only machine Linux and Windows installed.

Currently, more than 20 governments, including the ones from Germany, France and China, are encouraging the use of Linux and other free programs. "The monopoly isn't good for anybody", Stulzer detaches, and he concludes: "free software came to stay."

Services:
Emend of free computer science/Linux: www.telecentros.sp.gov.br

Others sites:
www.softwarelivre.rs.gov.br
www.cipsga.org.br
www.codigolivre.org.br
www.seluque.com.br

Source: REVISTA DE NEGÓCIOS - YEAR I - NUMBER 4 - NOVEMBER / DECEMBER, 2002
ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO