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Free & Open Source Software: Victoria Tan & Ameel Zia Khan
Free & Open Source Software: Victoria Tan & Ameel Zia Khan
› Free Software:
– 1983: Richard Stallman launches GNU project
• To create “a sufficient body of software […] to get along
without any software that is not free” [1]
– 1985: Stallman starts Free Software Foundation (FSF)
› Open Source Software:
– 1998: Netscape releases its source code under
Netscape Public License
• In response to Microsoft making Internet Explorer free
– 1998: Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond’s start Open
Source Initiative (OSI)
› Pros › Cons
– License is free – Many versions, vendors
– No vendor lock-in – Fear or no one to blame
– Large developer base – Fewer features
– Community support – Limited desktop use (for now)
– More reliable – Limited marketing
– More secure – May have limited interoperability
– More flexible – Documentation quality varies
– More localization (i.e.
more multi-lingual)
› Myths
– Attraction is price tag
– Savings aren’t real
– There’s no support
– It’s a legal minefield
– It’s insane for mission-critical applications
• Funny, since over 50% of FOSS use is in this area
– It isn’t ready for the desktop
• 26% of surveyed companies are using it on the desktop
Source: Open Source Academy, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Bristol City Council
Trends
Source: Optaros
FOSS Usage: Large Organizations
Source: Optaros
FOSS Usage: Mid-Sized Organizations
Source: Optaros
FOSS Usage
Source: Optaros
Meeting Business Goals
Source: Forrester
Bottom Line
Source: Optaros
FOSS Usage: By Industry & Software Category
Source: Netcraft
Web Server Software – 2001-2007 Growth
Source: Netcraft