Economic Aspects And Business Models Of Free Software

This module is focused on the study of Free Software in relation with the private sector and the economic implications of its use and development models. We analyse the software industry from an economic perspective: how it was affected by the raise of free software and what is its potential for the future. On the other hand, we study how to use Free Software in the private sector, from a software development perspective but also regarding deployment and migration.

This book is not based on any particular distribution, but we need to specify certain actions for most of the examples and activities, for which we will use Debian GNU/Linux. Although this distribution is not as intuitive and user-friendly as others, it will serve to explain all the characteristics of a GNU/Linux-based operating system, step by step. Moreover, its remarkable quality, stability and security make it one of the most valid options available today. We should also mention the support available for other distributions, which is essential for many companies. We have therefore included an appendix explaining the installation process and main features of RedHat Linux.

This open book is licensed under a GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL). You can download Economic Aspects and Business Models of Free Software ebook for free in PDF format (3.1 MB).