Why is free software free?
It is free not because nobody has to pay for it (everything has its cost and even if you’re not paying anything it doesn’t mean nobody did – the programmer’s spare time, his wife, kids et al), but because it delivers you freedom. Most of the software available at my site is licensed under GNU General Public License, which allows you to:
- Use the software without paying for it. You are free to use it as long a s you like it, on as many computers as you want, under as many accounts as you like. You are free to keep as many spare copies of it as you need.
- Modify the software. You are free to modify it, because its source code is available to you. You have no obligation to seek approval for your modifications or to provide them back to the author.
- Distribute the software. You are free to give the software to whomever you like, as many times as you like, in its original form or modified by you.
Such great freedoms, naturally, come with certain responsibilities from your side. When distributing the software:
- You are not allowed to change the license terms (meaning everybody who receives the software from you, either modified or unmodified, should enjoy the same freedoms as you), and
- You are obliged to provide the source code to everybody who receives the software from you (incl. all your modifications, if any).
How can you support development of free software?
There are many ways you can help – you can donate your ideas, time, efforts, knowledge, coding skills… of, you can chose to donate some money. The free software neither obliges you to do so, nor sets any particular amount. In fact, the software development is much more expensive than can be raised from donations (if you are curios on this topic, read about automated cost estimation software like SLOC and run the source code of your favourite apps through it; it will tell you the effort and its price to create it) – but still, a donation is very important as a sign of recognition to the developer. In fact, it can be an excellent stimulus for continuing the development.
What will happen with your donation?
If you decide to make a financial contribution, it will be used to justify the time and effort I spend on writing free software.
Whenever a donation is received, I dedicate to free software minimum twice the amount of time the will pay.
If you are interested in particular features, I shall do my best to implement them timely and properly.
Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential. Your name and country will be listed as a contributor and supporter to the project you donate for, unless you explicitly request not to do it.
How can you make a donation?
Hit the button below. It will take you to PayPal, a US-based payment processor. You will see my name (Assen Totin) and my oldest surviving email address, assen@online.bg listed on top of the page. If you have a PayPal account, you transfer the money from it; if you don’t, you can still do so with your credit card.
When at the PayPal page, just enter the desired amount and follow the on-screen instructions.