What is arguably the first free software program to be initiated by an ‘establishment’ software products giant has closed rather early. Multimedia giant Adobe Systems, which initiated the trial program, has no definitive date yet of resuming the program.
Earlier this month, multimedia giant Adobe Systems had started giving away its Flex Builder 3 Professional software free of charge to out-of-work developers hit by the economic slowdown. To participate in the program, unemployed developers had to attest that the Web applications software would be used only for personal use and skill-building and not for production or commercial purposes.
In exchange, they were allowed to download a free copy of Flex Builder 3’s Professional version, normally priced at $699. The scheme attracted attention for its manifest open source signature and a spirit of generosity rarely seen in the cut-throat market. On its part, Adobe was keen to create a new reservoir of trained developers with strong Flex Builder skills.
Queried on the rather premature close of the scheme, Prabhjeet Singh, Country Marketing Manager, Adobe India, said, “We are still catching up with the demand for these licenses, and hence, have put the program on hold even though requests are trickling in. This was the first phase of this program and we need to access the feasibility of running this for a longer term.”
Over the last two years, Adobe had heard from companies who use Adobe Flex to create Web applications, but were not finding enough developers with skills in Adobe Flex Builder. “In addition, we noticed an increase in the number of developers who were first time attendees at our Adobe Flex user groups and events. These developers indicated they were interested in learning about Adobe Flex Builder because they had recently lost jobs at companies that used other development technologies like Java or .NET.”
“This led us to believe that there is an opportunity to support the developer community by providing them with the tools and training to succeed while simultaneously helping our customers find skilled developers to meet their hiring needs,” Singh said. The effect has been contagious. This month, several software evangelists have reached out to the developer community via interfaces like Twitter, offering free Adobe Flex Builder 3 licenses to unemployed developers.
Singh said that this is a grassroots effort. “There is no official Adobe program to announce at this time. We’re worked with early responders in a trial program to see what Adobe can provide to help developers expand their skills and find new jobs,” he said, adding that the response was overwhelming. He ruled out plans for more such programs in the near future. On a related note, Spanish telecom provider Telefonica has been offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on fixed and mobile phone services for unemployed customers. The offer also applies to self-employed customers, though the maximum limit in this case is 20 euros per month per invoice.
