The GNU Project - Free Software Purists Consider also The GNU Project that has been providing free software since the 80's. Long before Red Hat entered the scene, GNU was writing and distributing volumes and volumes of high quality free software. In fact, if you are a UNIX developer, you most certainly use GNU products several times every day. And like Red Hat, GNU sells the code formally as a convenience product as well as providing consulting services for related application development projects. Essentially, they use the free software side of their business to prove their capabilities and to develop tools that they can use on other projects.
Ubiquity drives increasing returns in the network economy.
Make them free. Indeed we see many innovative companies in the new economy following the free. Microsoft gives away its Internet Explorer web browser. Netscape also gives away its browser, as well as its valuable source code. And of course Sun passed Java out gratis, sending its stock up and launching a mini-industry of Java application developers.