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As amazing as it sounds, there are hundreds of outfits and foundations out there that actively build and distribute software for free. The reason for them giving away their software is varied, but the benefits to the customers is huge.

Many years ago in the 70’s, computer programmers and nerds would create software and distribute it to other hobbyists for nothing to try and make it better. Then along came a man called Bill Gates who saw a money making opportunity in building software for computers and built Altair BASIC. Rather alarmingly for him, his software was also pirated around and he ended up writing a pointed letter explaining why software should not be free (try Googling Bill Gates Open Letter).

In recent years, the open source collective has been gaining a large foothold in the software market, probably caused by developing countries who can’t afford the licensing fees of commercial software like Windows, MS Office, Photoshop and even Programming Languages.

There are free versions of just about everything, from office applications to computer applications. The open source concept has even hit the food and drink market with open source recipes for wine and beer now available on the Internet. I am actually writing this informative article on a piece of open source software called Open Office, a free substitute to MS Word, and it’s running on Ubuntu, an open source alternative to Windows or Mac OS X.

When it comes to the Internet, there is a lot of open source software available to power any kind of website. Web development companies such as Wordpress and Wikimedia Foundation release software free for businesses to use. What makes it very effective is that open source customization can be undertaken by a huge number of companies around the globe.

Choosing open source software to run your website provides a great base from which to commence, for example Wordpress is suitable for probably any kind of website, but with a bit of Wordpress customization you can have it meet your exact desires for a fraction of the price of creating it from nothing.

Before you buy your next computer programme, always check to discover if there is an open source option available. Especially relevant during these economic conditions, open source scripts may be one way you or your organization can drive down its costs.