Introduction
Nowadays the words 'Open Source' have
become exceedingly common and everyone hears them at least once a
day. The reason this is happening because the open source idea has
revolutionized the world of computers and human life in general.
'Open Source' is generally heard in the context of software and
operating systems (Linux and Android are two major examples). Another
term commonly heard is 'FOSS'. It stands for 'Free Open Source
Software'. Now let me clear a misconception. Open Source tech does
not imply it is free. Only FOSS tech is both open source and free,
others may not be.
Why is open source better?
Open source means that the source code
of that particular technology can be viewed by anybody in the world.
Each tech has its own Internet forum where developers post
suggestions and changes in the code. Every few months, the best ones
are picked up and a new version of that tech is released. Neat, huh?
Now the reason this is better is that
the code can be viewed by independent third parties, which means they
may point out gaping holes the developers might have missed. This
improves the user experience with a better interface and makes it
extremely hard for miscreants to hack. So things like antivirus
softwares (which are useful but far from bulletproof, don't even get
me started on that) are rendered redundant. And developers who
specialize in front end and back end can work on the respective
components of that tech without disturbing the other. And in the end,
the way everything seamlessly integrates to form a stunning piece of
tech is just breathtaking.
Open source v/s Proprietary
softwares
Proprietary software products are the
ones you have to pay for, and pay repeatedly for license renewal,
unless you are the type who would painstakingly obtain cracked
versions. Open source softwares have no such thing as 'licensing
period'. The latter often fall short for which the former makes up.
Common examples are:
- Gimp as a replacement for Adobe Photoshop
- Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer
- Office Suite instead of Microsoft Office
How do open source technologies make
money?
This is a very good question. As I said
earlier, not all pieces of Open Source software are free. But for
those who are, there are several ways of making money.
- The download can be free but they may charge a fee for the source code
- They may sell the documentation
- They may charge for support and installation qualification, like in the case of RedHat for Linux or Revolution for R.
- They may provide maintenance services online, which is somewhat like SaaS (Software as a Service), but I digress.
- If they get very famous, VCs (Venture Capitalists) may want to invest in them and set them up with a market share structure. They will then sell their shares.
It is not a surprise therefore that
OpenSource is stealing a steady march over paid, licensed software.
So, in conclusion, open source tech is
the future. I'm a huge fan of this idea, just in case you didn’t already guess
from from how much I've been gushing about it throughout this
article. I develop and contribute to this movement in my own little
way, checking source codes of various software packages and trying to
edit the code.
Come, consider joining the movement.
Cheers!
