GFOSS is against the commercial software
No. The software is free trade. Many free geospatial applications are used every day on commercial projects by companies and companies that offer services. Free software is generally compatible with the needs of these companies.
If instead you refer to the proprietary software, it really is not free nor open source. GFOSS respects the important role being played by proprietary software in the area geographically, and not in any way acting to remove the proprietary software or companies that produce it. However, GFOSS argues that free software can and should play an important role in the geospatial. After all, the availability of free software and good quality alternative to the owner is good for users, industry, and even for those who sell proprietary software, given that most of the owners rely in any way to free software.
GIS collection is difficult, just for experts
This is true only for certain programs, where more customization options may scare a neophyte. A desktop GIS as QuantumGIS is not substantially different from the equivalent owners. The server-side programs are sometimes much easier for owners equivalent.
The free GIS are unreliable, not suitable for real work
Large companies and government services based on mission-critical software. There is no systematic evidence of a lesser reliability of the GIS free compared to those owners, and in many cases can be demonstrated to the contrary.
GIS does not have free assistance, training and documentation
There are a number of companies and professionals, both internationally and nationally, providing professional support (including training and the production and adaptation of the documentation). Currently the number is lower than that of companies that give support to proprietary software, but this stems from the fact that they are currently the most popular.
GIS does not provide guarantees free
All licenses (mostly proprietary) exclude liability for damages arising out of the software. Moreover, there is no guarantee of proper operation. In this proprietary software is equivalent to free software. However, the savings on the cost of licensing, it is usually possible to secure assistance and training more effective and adequate guarantees of continuity of service.
The migration from one owner to a GIS free is difficult and expensive
Thanks to a number of standards, both between the data formats (eg. Shapefiles, GeoTIFF, etc..) Is among the services (see standards developed by Open Geospatial Consortium, shared by free and proprietary software), adequate plans Migration can be developed and implemented, in continuity of service, with a net saving of resources.
Maintenance is very expensive
Although progress is ongoing, and cycles of issue of free software is very fast, it is not essential, to have a system in perfect working order, carry out continuous updates. Consequently, maintenance can be planned and implemented in a way fundamentally different from what happens with proprietary software, and cost usually comparable.
The malfunction (bug) are not arranged, or if after so much time
There are plenty of evidence to the contrary. In many cases, a bug can be repaired by the community, so totally free in a few hours. In any case we can guarantee the prompt resolution, and distribution of an updated version, by an appropriate business support.
Missing my favorite feature, the most important for my work ...
In general, the GIS are very rich collection of features (but also among those missing owners features widely available among the free ...). In case you miss a really important, we must bear in mind that the costs for the development of a new function are usually surprisingly low, thanks to the reuse of components already available and tested (the basic principle of open source software).
The cost of software is irrelevant to the GIS, because the majority is spent on data
The data is a key component of GIS, and their cost is very high. But the software has a weight not negligible because:
- in the cost of data is also implicitly included the use of software is often very expensive
- GIS data are also used by many other subjects (eg. independent professionals, consultants, universities and research organizations, students, associations etc.). even when you include the cost of software for all these subjects, the percentage change in substantial.
Free software is free
Although often free software is downloaded without charge from the internet, free software does not require the free, freedom and gratuity are two orthogonal aspects. There are many programmers and companies that sell software, and in particular the associated services:
- installation
- configuration
- training
- support
- Quality Assurance
The free software is free
Nothing could be further from the truth, when the free software released only in binary form and with a proprietary license, does not guarantee any of the freedom that characterized the free software.
Free software is free of copyright
E 'false: every fruit of human creativity, as long as it is original, is protected by the principles of copyright. The free software is distributed, however, in a legal regime more flexible and permissive, thanks to a special licensing model based on copyleft, which have legal force.
The opposite of free trade
Wrong, the opposite of free software is proprietary. The marketing of the software does not depend on the license used: there are many companies that sell software or offer free services based on free software.