Open source software use on the rise

March 24, 2005
By Phil Lineburg
Staff Writer

In the last several years there has been an increased interest in Open Source software.  This is mostly because of the increased use of the Linux operating system by individuals and organizations alike.

What sets Open Source software apart from commercial software, as Microsoft produces, is that it has a generous users license.  You can install it on as many computers as you like.  If you are a programmer, you can download the source code and make your changes to the software, as long as you provide the changes to others.  If you are a publisher, you can produce CDs containing the software and sell them to the public without paying royalties, by abiding to minor restrictions.

There are many open source software applications that even rival their commercial counter parts.  Many of these were commercial applications that software companies made available to the public, for free.

They include OpenOffice, a rival to Microsoft Office, provided by Sun Microsystems.  The Mozilla Foundation, which produces FireFox and other web browser, was based on the commercial web browser Netscape Navigator.

Other applications were created by an individual or a small group of people, with many others joining along the way.  This is the case with The Gimp, a photo editing application that is very similar to Adobe Photoshop.

While these applications may be a very nice alternative to the commercial variants,  there are flaws and downsides to using Open Source software.

“The problem with Open Source software is the lack of common support,” the chair of computer and information sciences Mark McGinn said.  “It’s a big industry problem.”

Many free applications can be downloaded from websites like Tucows.com and Download.com.  For more information on free software and the Free Software Foundation, visit their website at www.gnu.org.

“I think Open Source is a wonderful movement,” McGinn said.  “Microsoft suffers from a lack of competition, and in the commercial sector there isn’t a big player to provide to provide that competition.  On the operating system side, I see Linux doing that.  I think [Linux] has actually made Microsoft better.”

Back to the FEATURES-PAGE or "The Buzz" HOMEPAGE