Is Free Software Really Free? Examining the hidden costs of open-source bioinformatic software toolsAccelerating the Quest for Significance 2 IS FREE SOFTWARE REALLY FREE? Background There are many free things out there, and most people will ask, “Why should I pay for something that I can get for free?” This is a good question. The open-source movement has gained a lot of momentum in the last decade. In higher education, open- source programs such as Moodle (course management system: www.moodle.org), Kuali (fi nancial system for academics: www. kuali.org), and Sakai (another course management system: www. sakaiproject.org) have gained popularity. The genetic research fi eld is no diff erent with open-source tools such as Bioconductor (http://www.bioconductor.org) and PLINK (http://

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