What is Open Source?
Open Source Versus Commercial Software
What is open source software, and why should you use it? The article below explains why in greater detail, but consider this brief list of advantages that free open source software has over commercially-available retail software:
- Open source software is free to download
- You can install open source software on as many computers as you want
- You can freely copy and share open source software—no more piracy
- New versions and program updates are always free
- The source code is available for security and privacy auditing
Commercial software companies want to convince us that paying hundreds of dollars every couple of years to have the latest version is necessary. It's not. There are freely available alternatives that are updated more frequently, are safer, do not compromise your privacy, and are supported by a community of users that is constantly improving it.
Why Open Source is Better
A computer is useless without software. A computer needs an operating system, which is a fancy term for the first software your machine loads when you turn it on. Most users run the Microsoft Windows operating system, and they often pay hundreds of dollars for it. Most are unaware that there are many open source alternatives that operate just as well—and they are completely free for you to install on as many computers as you wish!
As with open source operating systems, there are also many other programs that you can get for free. For example, most users aren't aware that OpenOffice is a free office suite comparable to Microsoft Office (which costs several hundred dollars). And there are many other free applications, from photo editors to sound recorders, that are also available. The purpose of Discover Open Source is to provide you with information about each of these free software packages and introduce you to the open source software community.
Open Source Software is Free
Sure, open source software is free—but that's only part of the equation. Viruses are free too, so price isn't everything! What makes open source software better than shareware, freeware, or commercial software? Shareware usually nags you every time you use it, or comes with limitations that can only be unlocked by paying the publisher. Freeware is free, but often does not include the source code, or requires you to install intrusive components (such as software that tracks your web surfing habits). Closed-source commercial software—the most expensive of all—is the worst of the lot in terms of price, freedom, quality, and community support.
Too often we associate cost with value. In the case of open source software, price is a very misleading gauge of quality. Just because it's free doesn't mean it isn't as good!
Look Under the Hood
With most software, improvements depend entirely on the company who wrote the software. Imagine if a car you purchased could only be serviced by the manufacturer, or that the only modifications, parts, and add-ons had to be those from the manufacturer. No one would ever purchase a car with such restrictions! Yet we don't hesitate to purchase software that not only has these same restrictions, but is not even owned by the purchaser. In many cases the software remains owned by the company that wrote it, and it is licensed for use on one PC. What's more is that without being able to access the publisher's activation servers to verify the serial number, the software we "purchase" is absolutely worthless. As if this weren't enough, we cannot extend the software's functionality, improve it, or even examine how it works. This is because we do not have access to the "engine"—the source code—to do so.
Use the Source
Not so with open source. Open source software is better because the code is available for your review, modification, improvement, and ownership. In fact, if you make modifications to the source code and choose to redistribute the software, you are required to release the source code so that others can benefit from the improvements. It belongs to everyone, so no one single company or individual can control the software. This simple concept has lead to a vast army of users, testers, and developers whose collective efforts dwarf even the largest and most sophisticated commercial software publishers. For example, Ubuntu Linux is considered extremely competitive with (if not superior to) Microsoft Windows, yet is free open source software. Such development has accelerated rapidly as the number of users has increased, resulting in a more refined product over time.
Open Source is More Secure
With commercial software, security is often achieved by means of obscurity or other complications that are hidden in the software. However, once these tricks and limitations are discovered, the security holes are exploited viciously by attackers. And because the commercial software publisher doesn't make any money to close these holes, it may be months before they address the issue by means of a software patch.
On the other hand, open source code encourages anyone to audit the software and find areas of weakness, and can respond quickly—often within days—to address any potential security issues that are found. Rather than hide vulnerabilities and hope they aren't exploited, open source code must be secure by design from the beginning, or else it could quickly be exploited.
Open Source is in Use By Millions
Many of the world's most powerful web servers (the systems that display your favorite web sites) are running open source software such as Apache Web Server, PHP, and MySQL. Your email is likely delivered by an open source mail transport agent such as Courier, Postfix, or Sendmail. There can be no question that it works, and that many major companies trust their entire business to open source software. And if you use Firefox to browse the web or Thunderbird to check your mail, then you're already using open source software yourself.
