Free, Open Source and Commercial Software

Week 8; Post 1

As one would have usually expected, when downloading free or open source software, of any kind, from an unknown source on the world wide web, there were risks. With each download you were potentially vulnerable to a wild concoction of viruses, flaws and privacy risks. Although it may not have been on your last download, it could’ve certainly be on your next one. However, as we progress into the future it has become apparent that many websites and developers have dedicated resources to providing only legitimate software. Websites such as ‘SourceForge’ provide “leading resource[s] for open source software development and distribution. With the tools we provide, 2.7 million developers create powerful software in over 260,000 projects. Our popular directory connects more than 46 million consumers with these open source projects and serves more than 2,000,000 downloads a day. SourceForge is where open source happens.” (SourceForge, 2011).

 Furthermore, source forge actually offers a range of comprehensive developer tools to developers online, so as to provide services to complete, start or even progress on software projects. This means that developing is more appealing to developers, thus the applications they build are of a higher standard. SourceForge “provide the best tools to help creative people build innovative software and [their] platform is how they share it with a global audience searching for easy software solutions.” (SourceForge, 2011). This then begs the question, How does a feature like this help developers, and what is the distinction between open source and commercial software. Yes, the open source and free software may contain a few banners, maybe a GIFF playing in the background, and the buttons and links don’t look as ‘fancy’, however the main difference is how fast we as consumers get upgraded products. An interesting point detailed by Unisys World is the difference between a major upgrade for a commercial and open source product. If a major multi-language software company was to contemplate a change in one of their products, “First you would have to ask your manager for permission to hire some programmers who understood these six languages. Then you would have to do the actual recruiting, set up offices in different countries and coordinate the work...But consider the open source mode. The creator ...[would] not have to go out and find programmers. He merely published the code, and they found him. All he had to do was integrate their changes into the code base.” (Oualline 2000, p. 12)

In conclusion, although with free and open source software you are missing out on that professional sheik feel, with light grey buttons, and vaguely reflective, glass like backdrops, that commercial developers slug you hundreds of dollars for, with this software you get the ingenuity of all those hundreds-of-thousands of rogue developers out there, where it is getting upgraded everyday, and where the sky is the limit. 

SourceForge, 2011, viewed 14th September 2011, <http://sourceforge.net/>

Oualline, S. 2000, "Free vs. commercial software", Unisys World, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 12-12.