We hear the term open-source almost every day to describe software that is most often downloaded from an Internet web site. open-source is simply a phrase used to express that the computer programming code that makes up the software is free and open to anyone to use and alter to meet their needs. For most home users equating open-source with free software is enough to get the point across. For more technologically oriented individuals, open-source means that if they like a piece of software and want to try to improve it or add new functionality to it they have the freedom to do so without having to pay royalties or fees to the original writer of the software.
Is open-source Software Safe?
In most cases, yes. open-source software means that by definition others can openly look at and examine the lines of code that make up a computer program. When a piece of open-source software is released hundreds of other users will often examine that code and continue the sequence of improvement. In the course of these alterations any malicious code or bugs that might be inside the software are ferreted out and removed in the next distribution. Some would say that open-source software is often more secure and more stable than many commercial products on the market today.
Is open-source Software As Good As The Commercial Software?
Yes and no. While open-source projects such as OpenOffice have finally come very close to providing the same high quality user experience that Microsoft Office has been doing for years, in general open-source software is not as robust as commercial versions of the same basic software. This is not to say that such software is less useful, it may simply be less attractive or have fewer features than the commercially branded counterpart.
What Kind Of open-source Software is Available?
There are literally thousands of open-source projects out on the Internet at any given time. Searching sites such as SourceForge or even by simply doing a web search for open-source Software a person can find applications for almost any use. open-source authors are permitted to charge fees for their derivative works, but in general most open-source software remains free to download and use on almost any computer.
Next: Free Operating Systems: Linux
Is open-source Software Safe?
In most cases, yes. open-source software means that by definition others can openly look at and examine the lines of code that make up a computer program. When a piece of open-source software is released hundreds of other users will often examine that code and continue the sequence of improvement. In the course of these alterations any malicious code or bugs that might be inside the software are ferreted out and removed in the next distribution. Some would say that open-source software is often more secure and more stable than many commercial products on the market today.
Is open-source Software As Good As The Commercial Software?
Yes and no. While open-source projects such as OpenOffice have finally come very close to providing the same high quality user experience that Microsoft Office has been doing for years, in general open-source software is not as robust as commercial versions of the same basic software. This is not to say that such software is less useful, it may simply be less attractive or have fewer features than the commercially branded counterpart.
What Kind Of open-source Software is Available?
There are literally thousands of open-source projects out on the Internet at any given time. Searching sites such as SourceForge or even by simply doing a web search for open-source Software a person can find applications for almost any use. open-source authors are permitted to charge fees for their derivative works, but in general most open-source software remains free to download and use on almost any computer.
Next: Free Operating Systems: Linux
