Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Is Memsource an open source tool?
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: Not an SaaSS, I think
[quote]esperantisto wrote:
As for Memsource, it is definitely not free software, because it is SaaSS. [/quote]
Well, firstly, the original poster did not ask if MemSource was "free software" but whether it was "open source". Yes, I know, these two terms are often used interchangeably (in the same way that "open source" is sometimes used when the poster would have been happy with "freeware"), but since we're splitting hairs, I might as well point this out.
Secondly, the fact that the MemSource team does not make their software's source freely available does not mean that it is not "free software". The GPL, for example, does not require one to distribute the free software... only that one must distribute it in a certain way if one decides to distribute it.
The GNU article about of "SaaSS" (Service as a Software Substitute) is interesting, but it's highly philosophical. The fact that you (as a user) have no idea how a web-based service converts a file from one format to another, does not make it any less free, since you probably don't know how the program on your own computer does the conversion either (even if it is an open source program)... unless you're not only a user but also a programmer.
Topic: Is Memsource an open source tool?
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: Not an SaaSS, I think
[quote]esperantisto wrote:
As for Memsource, it is definitely not free software, because it is SaaSS. [/quote]
Well, firstly, the original poster did not ask if MemSource was "free software" but whether it was "open source". Yes, I know, these two terms are often used interchangeably (in the same way that "open source" is sometimes used when the poster would have been happy with "freeware"), but since we're splitting hairs, I might as well point this out.
Secondly, the fact that the MemSource team does not make their software's source freely available does not mean that it is not "free software". The GPL, for example, does not require one to distribute the free software... only that one must distribute it in a certain way if one decides to distribute it.
The GNU article about of "SaaSS" (Service as a Software Substitute) is interesting, but it's highly philosophical. The fact that you (as a user) have no idea how a web-based service converts a file from one format to another, does not make it any less free, since you probably don't know how the program on your own computer does the conversion either (even if it is an open source program)... unless you're not only a user but also a programmer.