Long-time Linux advocate and a keynote speaker at the first LinuxWorld ZA conference, Jon "Maddog" Hall yesterday said the the real value of open source is not captured in a total-cost-of-ownership calculation. He referenced the ongoing campaign by proprietary vendors to convince customers that their solutions had a lower TCO. "I don't care," he boomed across the Hall. "When I talk about the value of software I talk about empowerment and the quality of the solution. ��

�"What is the value to the user or the company that is using it?" he asked.

He said that too often the TCO numbers put forward by proprietary vendors calculate their results based on how much it would cost to migrate from a proprietary solution to an open source one, rather than comparing two brand-new installations. In many of the calculations they are "comparing apples and oranges" as they assume that an existing proprietary system is in place. "If you install a proprietary solution you have all the start up costs associated with any software implementation but they often don't count this."

"Outside of the USA we should also talk about the balance of payments and where the money that is spent on software actually goes," he said.

"In Brazil, for example, despite a huge piracy rate the country annually sends US$1 billion in licence fees to the USA. That money is gone from the economy for a long time."

"When a dollar is sent out of a country it is the equivalent of ten dollars being sent out of the country. When you pay a local developer they spend the money locally and the money stays within the economy.................

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[LUG] Maddog rails against 'false' TCO debate

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