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Free as in puppy: The hidden costs of free software
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Image by : opensource.com
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We're used to hearing of software being described as "free as in freedom" and "free as in beer." But there's another kind of "free" that doesn't get talked about as much: "free as in puppy." This concept is based around the idea that when someone gives you a free puppy, that puppy isn't really free. There's a lot of work and expenses that go into its daily care. The business term is "total cost of ownership," or TCO, and it applies to anything, not just open source software and puppies.
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So if the free puppy problem applies to everything, how is it important to open source software specifically? There are a few ways. First, if you're already paying for software, then you've set the expectation that it has costs. Software that's free up front but costs money later seems like a major imposition. Secondly, if it happens on an organization's first open source adoption project, it can put the organization off of adopting open source software in the future. Lastly and counterintuitively, showing that open source software has a cost may make it an easier "sell." If it's truly no cost, it seems too good to be true.
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The following sections represent common areas for software costs to sneak in. This is by no means a comprehensive list.
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### Setup costs
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To begin using software, you must first have the software.
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* **Software:** Just because it's open source doesn't necessarily mean it's _gratis_.
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* **Hardware:** Consider the requirements of the software. If you don't have the hardware that (this could be server hardware or client hardware) you need to use the software, you'll need to buy it.
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* **Training:** Software is rarely completely intuitive. The choice is to get training or figure it out on your own.
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* **Implementation** Getting all of the pieces in the same room is only the start. Now, it's time to put the puzzle together.
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* **Installation and configuration:** At a minimum this will take some staff time. If it's a big project, you may need to pay a systems integrator or some other vendor to do this.
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* **Data import:** If you're replacing an existing system, there is data to move into a new home. In a happy world where everything complies with the same standard, this is not a problem. In many cases, though, it may be necessary to write some scripts to extract and reload data.
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* **Interfaces with other systems:** Speaking of writing scripts, does this software tie in nicely with other software you use (for example, your directory service or your payroll software)?
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* **Customization:** If the software doesn't meet all of your needs out of the box, it may need to be customized. You can do that, but it still requires effort and maybe some materials.
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* **Business changes:** This new software will probably change how your organization does something—hopefully for the better. However, the shift isn't free. For example, productivity may dip initially as staff get used to the new software.
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### Operational costs
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Getting the software installed is the easy part. Now you have to use it.
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* **More training:** What, did you think we were done with this? Over time, new people will probably join your organization and they will also need to learn how to use the software, or a new release will come out that adds additional functionality.
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* **Maintenance:**
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* **Subscription:** Some software provides updates via a paid subscription.
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* **Patches:** Depending on the nature of the software, there may be some effort in applying patches. This includes both testing and deployment.
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* **Development:** Did you make any customizations yourself? Now you have to maintain those forever.
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* **Support:** Someone has to fix it when it goes wrong, and whether that's a vendor or your own team, there's a real cost.
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* **Good citizenship:** This one isn't a requirement, but if you're using open source software, it would be nice if you gave back somehow. This might be code contributions, providing support on the mailing list, sponsoring the annual conference, etc.
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* **Business benefits:** Okay, so this isn't a cost, but it can offset some of the costs. What does using this software mean for your organization? If it enables you to manufacture widgets with 25% less waste, then that's valuable. To provide another example, maybe it helps you increase repeat contributions to your nonprofit by 30%.
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Even with a list like this, it takes a lot of imagination to come up with all of the costs. Getting the values right requires some experience and a lot of good guessing, but just going through the process helps make it more clear. Much like with a puppy, if you know what you're getting yourself into up front, it can be a rewarding experience.
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作者简介：
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Ben Cotton - Ben Cotton is a meteorologist by training and a high-performance computing engineer by trade. Ben works as a technical evangelist at Cycle Computing. He is a Fedora user and contributor, co-founded a local open source meetup group, and is a member of the Open Source Initiative and a supporter of Software Freedom Conservancy. Find him on Twitter (@FunnelFiasco)
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via: https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software
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作者：[Ben Cotton ][a]
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译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID)
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校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID)
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本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出
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[a]:https://opensource.com/users/bcotton
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[1]:https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software?rate=gXfsYPWiIQNslwJ3zOAje71pTMRhp25Eo0HTdLWOKv4
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[2]:https://opensource.com/user/30131/feed
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[3]:https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software#comments
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[4]:https://opensource.com/users/bcotton
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幼犬式免费:免费软件中的无形消费
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Image by : opensource.com
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我们习惯于软件被描述为“自由式免费”和“啤酒式免费”。但还有另一种不常被提起的“免费”——“幼犬式免费”。这个概念来自于当别人送你一只免费的小狗，但那只小狗不是真的免费。日常照顾它需要花费大量精力与金钱。商业术语是“所有权的总花费”，或 TCO （总体拥有成本），这适用于所有场景，不仅仅是开源软件和小狗。
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既然免费小狗问题适用于所有事，那么它是如何对于开源软件特别重要的呢？有一些解释。首先，如果你已经购买了软件，就会因为消费对它设定期望值。软件起初免费后来收费似乎是主要的无理要求。其次，如果这发生在一个组织首次采用开源项目的时候，就会阻碍该组织下一次采用开源项目。最终且违反直觉的是，表明开源软件需要消费可能使得它更轻易“卖出”，如果它真的免费，未免也太好了一点。
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接下来的部分是软件消费渐显的共同之处。这绝不是一个详尽的列表。
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### 起始消费
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开始使用软件之前，你必须首先拥有这个软件。
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* **软件:** 只因为它开源不一定意味着它是_免费的_.
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* **硬件:** 考虑到软件的需求。如果你没有使用软件所需的硬件（可能是服务器硬件或者客户端硬件），你得买
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* **培训:** 很少有软件完全直白如话的。在于你是选择培训还是自己弄清楚。
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* **实战** 把所有零部件放在一起只是开始，现在，是时候把所有难题放在一起了。
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* **安装和配置:** 至少这将花费一些员工的工作时间。如果这是一个大项目，你可能需要花钱请一个系统整合者或者其他供应商来做这件事。
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* **数据导入:** 如果要取代现成的系统，存在数据搬家的问题。皆大欢喜的是所有都是相同标准编译的，这样就没什么问题。然而在很多情况，需要写一些脚本来提取和重载数据。
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* **其他系统的接口:** 说到写脚本，这个软件能和你使用的其他软件（例如，词典服务或者工资单软件）很好联系起来吗？
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* **定制:** 如果原本的软件不能满足你所有的需求，那它可能需要定制。你可以做到，但是仍需要努力或者是一些原材料。
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* **营业额变化:** 当你的组织希望有所改善时，新软件也会变化。然而这种转换不是免费的。例如，生产效率刚开始可能会下降因为员工还在适应新软件。
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### 经营成本
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安装软件是简单部分，现在你得使用它。
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* **更多培训:** 什么, 你认为我们已经做好这了? 过段时间，你的组织会加入信任，他们需要学习如何使用这个软件，或者说是添加了额外功能的新发行版软件出版了。
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* **维护:**
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* **会员费:** 有些软件通过收取会员费来提供更新。
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* **补丁:**取决于软件的天性，打补丁需要费很多功夫。包括测试和调度。
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* **发展:**你自己做所有定制吗？现在你得永远保持这样了。、
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* **支持:** 当它坏了得有人来修，无论是供应商还是自己的团队，确实需要一笔花费。
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* **好身份:** 这个不是必需品，但如果你在使用开源软件，无论如何给一些回馈是非常好的。比如代码贡献、在邮件列表提供支持、赞助年度会议等等。
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* **商业利益:** 好吧，这不是一个付费项，而且它抵消了一些费用。使用软件对你的组织意味着什么呢？如果它使得量产产品减少了 25% 的浪费,这就是价值。再换个例子，它可能帮助你减少 30% 不盈利部分。
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这样例子数不胜数，确实需要一定想象力来想出所有的花费。算出正确的价值需要一些实验和大量的的优质客户，但只是经历过程的话会使得它更加清晰。就好像一只小狗狗，如果预先知道自己会付出多少，这可能会是一个有价值的实验。
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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作者简介：
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Ben Cotton - Ben Cotton 是一个培训过的气象学家和一个职业的高效计算机工程师。 Ben 在 Cycle Computing 做技术传教士.他是 Fedora 用户和贡献者, 合作创办当地的一个开源集会，是一名开源倡议者和软件自由机构的支持者。他的推特 (@FunnelFiasco)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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via: https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software
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作者：[Ben Cotton ][a]
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译者：[XYenChi](https://github.com/XYenChi)
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校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID)
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本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出
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[a]:https://opensource.com/users/bcotton
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[1]:https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software?rate=gXfsYPWiIQNslwJ3zOAje71pTMRhp25Eo0HTdLWOKv4
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[2]:https://opensource.com/user/30131/feed
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[3]:https://opensource.com/article/17/2/hidden-costs-free-software#comments
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[4]:https://opensource.com/users/bcotton
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