Behind "Free to Use" - The Idea of Open Source

Why Are There Technologies You Can Use for Free?

Anyone can use the square black-and-white pattern for free. Generator tools are free, and scanning apps are free too. Why is such a convenient technology free? The answer is that the inventor, Denso Wave, while holding the patent, has made it clear that anyone can freely use patterns that conform to the standard. This decision is considered one of the reasons the technology spread as a global standard.

This way of thinking, "not monopolizing technology but sharing it with everyone," is not unusual in the IT world. This philosophy, called "open source," has become the foundation that supports the internet around the world.

What Is Open Source?

Open source is the idea of publishing the blueprint of software (the source code) so that anyone can see it, and allowing it to be freely used / improved / redistributed. It is like publishing a cooking recipe. You may look at the recipe and make the same dish, or you may arrange it in your own way. What is more, you may also share your arranged recipe with other people.

Well-known open source software includes Linux (an OS widely used on servers), Android (the smartphone OS), Firefox (a web browser), and WordPress (a website creation tool). All of these can be used for free, and developers around the world continue to improve them together.

Why Publish It for Free? - Three Motives

Motive 1 is "adoption." Both the black-and-white pattern and open source have their value maximized by being widely used. Charging patent fees slows adoption and can end up lowering the value of the technology. Motive 2 is "improvement." When the source code is published, developers around the world find and fix bugs and add new features. Quality tends to improve faster than when a single company develops alone.

Motive 3 is "trust." If the source code is published, anyone can check "what this software is doing behind the scenes." This transparency is particularly important for encryption software and security tools. It is a paradoxical kind of safety: "you can trust it because you can see inside."

Businesses Built on Open Source

The question "If you publish it for free, how do you make money?" is natural. There are several open source business models. One of the representative ones is the model of "free software, paid support." Red Hat (a Linux support company) built a large business with this approach.

The freemium model of "basic features free, advanced features paid" is also one of the representative forms. There is also the indirect benefit of demonstrating technical ability by contributing to open source projects and hiring excellent engineers. Behind the active contributions of large companies such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft to open source, there are thought to be strategic reasons like these as well.

Publishing Raises Quality

Technology published for free is often assumed to be of inferior quality, but in reality the opposite is not uncommon. When the design and contents are open for anyone to see, people around the world can inspect them and find and point out weaknesses and defects. By being exposed to many eyes, hidden problems tend to be found sooner, and improvements build up. Even defects that only a few people could notice in a closed state are more likely to be noticed by someone when it is open. Publishing may seem like an act of exposing weaknesses, but in fact it is a foundation that strengthens technology and builds trust.

The Strength of Spreading as a Standard

Technology published in a form that anyone can use freely does not remain the property of a particular company, and it tends to spread as a common rule that everyone follows, in other words, as a standard. Once it becomes a standard, various products and services are built on the assumption of the same mechanism, so they connect with each other more easily, and it becomes more convenient for users as well. Conversely, a technology that one company keeps to itself, even if it is excellent, may be left with nowhere to go if that company changes its policy or withdraws. Being open is a major strength that lets a technology continue to be used widely for a long time.

You Benefit from Open Source Too

You, reading this article, are already benefiting from open source. If you use an Android smartphone, the OS itself is open source. Even if you use an iPhone, the rendering engine of the Safari browser (WebKit) is open source. Internet communication protocols, the technology that displays websites, and databases. Much of the foundation of the internet is built with open source.

The fact that the black-and-white pattern can be used for free around the world also comes from a way of thinking that has much in common with open source. Rather than monopolizing technology, raising its overall value by sharing it. This way of thinking contains an important insight not only for the world of technology but for society as a whole.