Free LIMS, why not wait 'till they offer to pay you to take one…

by: Ephraim Gadsby

There is a new LIMS offering FreeLIMS.com.  I noticed this new offering the other day while searching Google.  I think I am going to wait until they pay me to take a LIMS.

Check out FreeLIMS.com and view some of the demos.  I like the demos, they come with an electric razor sound affect. 

Here you see some video tutorials (with voice / flash player required):

Create a sample type  
Manage users and user rights  
Create a new sample  
Change to German (auf Deutsch)  
Probenverwaltung (auf Deutsch)  

They also claim to be bleeding edge.  I always wanted a LIMS to bleed me.  See the following quote from their site:

“freeLIMS© is the sole product of Laboptimizer Ltd. This is a privately owned company located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Founded in 2006 with the idea of providing a worldclass open source LIMS to laboratories around the globe. We have many years of LIMS Industry experience and academic backgrounds in chemical engineering and information technology.

Vision: 
To build the leading LIMS solution for the Laboratory Industry.

Mission: 
a.) We deliver a bleeding edge LIMS software for free.
b.) We offer professional services supporting our product worth paying for. “

In all seriousness, you should definitely give this LIMS a try.  I have seen other LIMS on the market that are definitely not free and are hard pressed to have as many features as FreeLIMS.com.  Their big techno claim is to be xml and .net based; a lot like x-LIMS which might be free as well.

You know, there are well over 100 LIMS products on the market today and it seems like more pop up everyday as talented lab folks leave good paying jobs to have fun making LIMS software that they give away for free.  Pure genious!

Obviously what is needed is more LIMS choices.  There is no chance for consumer choice overload is there.  I think I am going to wait until someone comes out with a LIMS where they will pay me to take it.  At this growth rate for new LIMS packages I don’t think I will have to wait very long.  Are there any volunteers?