If
you’ve spent any lengthy amount of time on the Internet, you’ve probably heard
of open source software but might not have fully understood what it is and why
it even exists. This article will
describe this recent phenomenon and describe some of its benefits for the
software using community.
In a
nutshell, open source software is software made by everyone – for everyone. The
hope behind its development is that through its open access, it will evolve
into something that represents the true desires of computer users. Through a
wide network of user involvement, the software in question is enhanced and
debugged without costs or administrative policies.
Traditionally,
software is developed behind closed doors. A team of professional coders build
it but the community at large isn’t part of its conception. It’s costly to
produce and as you can probably guess, that cost is passed on to the end user:
the consumer. Open source software on the other hand is free. Free to download,
free to install, free to use, free to modify, and free to share.
Started
over twenty years ago, it’s a phenomenon that is gaining in both popularity and
exposure. In its first conception, open source gave birth to the World Wide Web
as we know it today. The Internet as a whole is the result of free permission
to access the web, use the web, contribute to the web, and share the web with
others. But it certainly hasn’t stopped there. In the not too distant past,
Netscape converted its once commercial version of its Navigator web browser to
open source. And today, open source is venturing into the commercial realm as
well.
At
first thought, the idea of open source may sound just plain crazy to those who
earn a living from software development. But the facts point to a different
prediction. Open source software puts companies in a terrific position to
re-brand and re-position themselves in a market that they may have not been
able to reach before. In the business world, open source is all about image and
when consumers witness corporations contributing (instead of selling) to the
buying public, they gain big favor in the eyes of their users (plus tremendous
opportunities to sell other items).
Inviting
the public inside a product’s development builds community and trust. It also
sets the platform for increased reliability. Fans of open source programs are
adamant about reliable software and highly criticize commercialized versions
for being buggy and error-prone. Avid fans even proclaim commercialism is the
cause of shoddy software.
Another
benefit that open source brings to light is the speed at which its products are
developed, enhanced, supported and distributed. This is because the people who
regularly contribute to an open source product do so for unmotivated reasons (other
than perhaps to feed the ego.) They’re highly talented, they’re available, and
they care. Bringing money into any project can almost mean instant death. It
can kill motivation, desire, and a true willingness to create a good product.
In a commercial setting, participants work for a paycheck rather than for the
product. And this is what puts open source projects far ahead of its monetized
competition.
As a
software user, this means you can contribute to an open source project as well,
and help to develop it into a product that reflects your direct preferences.
You aren’t “stuck” using open source software the way you would be stuck using
an expensive word processor or database. You have the same access to open
source software as its programmers have and in essence, you are your own
customer!
Perhaps
at this point you’re wondering where you can get in on this wonderful
opportunity. There are plenty of open source opportunities sprinkled across the
Internet and they can be easily found through any search engine. Google “open
source project” and you’ll be sure to find more resources than you can shake a
stick at and one of them that I really like is http://www.sourceforge.net
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