Questions tagged [freeware]
8 questions
198
votes
62 answers
Why do programmers write closed source applications and then make them free?
As an entrepreneur/programmer who makes a good living from writing and selling software, I'm dumbfounded as to why developers write applications and then put them up on the Internet for free. You've found yourself in one of the most lucrative…
Ken
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19
votes
8 answers
Why freeware (closed-source) instead of open-source?
I'm wondering why some people release software as freeware, yet they don't release the source code. Why is that? I can think of some reasons, yet most of them don't make very much sense. Why would you want to keep the source closed but let the…
Anto
- 11,157
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8
votes
7 answers
Rationale behind freeware projects
I've seen some freeware projects in the past where the author(s) invested a significant amount of their personal time and resources and never even considered charging for the software. A lot of these projects were donation based, and from what I've…
VexXtreme
6
votes
5 answers
Is it actually possible (practically) to sell Open Source software?
Open source software can be used for commercial purposes. It is said that
You can even sell Open Source software.
How does this work?
If I sell my open-source product (copyleft or permissive), there is nothing to prevent the next guy from selling…
user155884
3
votes
5 answers
How to make profit from freeware application?
The components that I'm using are restricting me from selling the application. Any ideas how to still make a profit from it? I've seen some freeware apps which set your homepage to some site, I guess they get paid for that.
blez
- 187
- 5
2
votes
3 answers
How to choose a the correct license for a project?
The applications that I develop on my free time are getting bigger and I'm planning to launch some other projects that I'm currently developing, so I want to know how to choose the correct license for freeware and open source projects for this and…
Nathan Campos
- 535
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2
votes
2 answers
Software licensing of free abandonware
I recently found the game that was my first encounter with a computer, a DOS game running in text mode. It was released in 1984 and is available on abandonware sites, but I've started to wonder if I may make a modern version of it (hopefully being…
Anders Sjöqvist
- 155
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-3
votes
4 answers
Best freeware license for my closed-source application
I have no experience in software licensing so far. I am releasing my first application but I am not familiar with any licenses. Most of the the summeries found that I can understand (http://opensource.org/licenses/category) are open source but I…
kagetoki
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