Open Source Software, Free Software
Tags: Software
Everyone has heard me talking about Open Source software - I'm a big fan of it. But what does it really mean, besides "free software" (which can also be something else)? The Open Source Initiative defines open source software as (don't let me lose you here) "a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in." Whew. In plain English, open source software is released along with its "source code" so that anyone can look at how it's written and even make changes and improvements. I like open source because, besides being free, I often find the software really is higher quality than the paid stuff. And the support is usually from well-qualified people posting on online forums, which is vastly superior to trying to call (and pay for!) tech support from a big company.
What you're reading right now is a great example of open source software. This blog, as I mentioned a while back, is written in BlogSphere, an open source blog for Lotus Notes from OpenNTF.org, an open source community for Lotus Notes applications. If you have sent me e-mail sometime in the last year or so it has made it's way through ASSP, a fantastic open source server-based anti-spam solution. An interesting free alternative to the very pricey Microsoft Office is OpenOffice.org. Finally, if you have called me in the last year you've heard one of my favorite open source applications, Trixbox, an unbelievable, yet free and open, phone system. Thankfully all of the above applications have terrific online communities, because they're not always the easiest to set up initially, especially ASSP and Trixbox.
As far as free software goes, there are great free alternatives that aren't necessarily open source. If you are one of my home clients chances are you're using free anti-virus and spyware protection software that is better than what a lot of people pay for. For remote support you're using a mostly open source solution that allows me to access your computers remotely to help you out.
The open source community is give and take, too. I recently published a Lotus Notes based contact relationship management application called (what else?) the Good Management System. It is available on OpenNTF.org, free for the taking.
Everyone has heard me talking about Open Source software - I'm a big fan of it. But what does it really mean, besides "free software" (which can also be something else)? The Open Source Initiative defines open source software as (don't let me lose you here) "a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in." Whew. In plain English, open source software is released along with its "source code" so that anyone can look at how it's written and even make changes and improvements. I like open source because, besides being free, I often find the software really is higher quality than the paid stuff. And the support is usually from well-qualified people posting on online forums, which is vastly superior to trying to call (and pay for!) tech support from a big company.
What you're reading right now is a great example of open source software. This blog, as I mentioned a while back, is written in BlogSphere, an open source blog for Lotus Notes from OpenNTF.org, an open source community for Lotus Notes applications. If you have sent me e-mail sometime in the last year or so it has made it's way through ASSP, a fantastic open source server-based anti-spam solution. An interesting free alternative to the very pricey Microsoft Office is OpenOffice.org. Finally, if you have called me in the last year you've heard one of my favorite open source applications, Trixbox, an unbelievable, yet free and open, phone system. Thankfully all of the above applications have terrific online communities, because they're not always the easiest to set up initially, especially ASSP and Trixbox.
As far as free software goes, there are great free alternatives that aren't necessarily open source. If you are one of my home clients chances are you're using free anti-virus and spyware protection software that is better than what a lot of people pay for. For remote support you're using a mostly open source solution that allows me to access your computers remotely to help you out.
The open source community is give and take, too. I recently published a Lotus Notes based contact relationship management application called (what else?) the Good Management System. It is available on OpenNTF.org, free for the taking.
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