PHPCollab

I am currently working for a government client in Ottawa, Canada, and I have the need to introduce some discipline to the way we communicate and manage our work. Last week, I quickly searched for software that could help us, and I downloaded PHPColab. There may be better tools out there, but this one is good enough for now, thank you very much.

I tried to edit the name of our organization, as it would appear on the PHPColab site, and experienced a bug. It was a real pleasure to read the error message and dive into the code to fix it. In two minutes, I was back in business. What a joy it is to have the source!

For my friends, who may not understand how open source works, especially when money is not involved, I want to explain. I do not sell software. I never have. I write code as a service for my clients. In most cases, they own the code when I am done, and in most cases, this ownership means nothing to them. I am not going over to the darkside, as my friend Joel, who works for Microsoft once joked. I have simply found a way to do business that makes sense to me.

But, buying software costs me money. Recommending commercial software to my clients costs me money, too. Often, my clients reduce the scope of the work given that the project comes with licensing costs – the reduced scope results in a reduced paycheque for me! Why not use open source?

Also, consider this: If I can arrive onsite with tools that I can install on my client’s network on day one, I am delivering value right away. I can charge for that value. More importantly, I am spared the ordeal of writing code that I have written before – even better, I do not have to write a poor man’s version of something that is commercially available. I can get on to the interesting, new and exciting parts of the job.

Why wouldn’t I participate in an open source project? It is not, as my friend Joel might think, a matter of coding for free and getting nothing for my work. I make money from using the tools. I expect that my knowledge and expertise in open source software will help me make good money in the future. The business is changing.

After more than a decade of working with closed source products, I am looking forward to collecting and adopting a host a cool tools. I am also looking forward to contributing to my first open source project.

Note: I get around to posting my next installment on databases this weekend. The kids have been sick. You know how it is.