Free and Open Source Software is it ready? PICTI 19/9/2006 Hanna Kreitem

Expectations

OpenSource ?! Open Source Software/Free Software programs are programs whose licenses give users the freedom to run the program for any purpose, to study and modify the program, and to redistribute copies of either the original or modified program (without having to pay royalties to previous developers). FSF freedoms: The freedom to run a program, for any purpose; The freedom to study how a program works and adapt it to a person’s needs. Access to the source code is a precondition for this; The freedom to redistribute copies so that you can help your neighbour; and The freedom to improve a program and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

OpenSource Philosophy Promotes open access and sharing. Promotes collaborative work. Not only limited to software:  Education: OpenCourseWare (MIT), OpenCurriculum.  Community and development: TakingITGlobal.org  Media: LiveJournal, WikiNews, blogs.  Open source movies: Elephant's Dream, World's first open movie. directed by Bassam Kurdali.  OpenCola, OpenBeer.  Wikipedia, Wikitionary, Wikiquotes, Wikibooks.

History 1960's and 1970's CS labs, the community of programmers shared improvements. 1970's and 1980's, began to conflict with propriety software GNU project was born, various tools. FSF established later Linus Trovalds write a UNIX-like kernel, Linux, which will fomr together with the GNU tools an operating system (GNU/Linux). 1997/8 GNU/Linux exploded into press spotlight, with 25% server market share and high growth rate. “OpenSource” came out.

Development Method The Cathedral and the Bazaar (1997, Eric S. Raymond) Cathedral Conventional closed source development Central planning. Tight organization. One process from start to finish. Developers spend time on finding bugs and handle feature requests. Bazaar Main Open Source development process. Grows organically. Anyone can submit suggestions and discuss them. Users are treated as co-developers. users can point directly to bugs, even fix it.

benefits of the OpenSource development method Reduced duplication of effort. Building upon the work of others. Better quality control. Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow Reduced maintenance costs.

Why OpenSource? (Benifits) Less dependence on imported technology and monopoly. Ability to customize/translate/and localize software. Building Software capacity: Low entry barriers, excellent training system. Participation in global network of software development. Less vulnerable to viruses and attacks (Faster Actions). Open Standards/Formats -Vendor Independent. Reduced Piracy (IPR, WTO). More reliable/stable. Looks good! Reduced costs - affordable software for individual, enterprise, and government.

Cost saving example

Maintenance and updates Average time required * per machine.

Shortcomings of OpenSource Lack of some applications, alternatives available, but still. Interoperability with propriety systems (non-open standards). Polish and not user friendly!! nah, look at this desktop.

OpenSource and Governments Governments are increasingly embracing the use of open source software. Brazil, France, Germany, Argentina, Spain, EC, China, Finland, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Africa

Break

Linux Linux is the most frequently heard FOSS buzzword in the mass media today. However, because of its common usage, the term Linux has been used to refer to broader and broader definitions. It is important to understand the different definitions of Linux to be able to follow the discussions on FOSS. Linux the kernel. Linux the distribution: contains the Linux kernel at its heart and all the FOSS components required to produce full operating system functionality

Linux Tour

Where can one obtain Linux? Most Linux distributions are free and downloadable from the Internet. The following is a table of some of the most popular distributors of Linux: Popular Linux Distributors Debian Redhat SuSe Mandriva SlackWare TurboLinux The advantages of going with distributions of Linux are many. The single most important advantage of vendor Linux over “stock” Linux is that it saves users time, and provides ready to use set of applications.

OpenSource Business Solutions Examples:  OpenXchange.  Apache. (65%)  MySQL.  Tomcat.  BIND (90%).  OpenOffice.  CRM: SugarCRM, VtigerCRM  DMS: KnowledgeTree, Alfresco. OpenSource Business Solutions  Suse Linux Enterprise Server/Desktop.  Netbeans / Eclipse.  Wiki, Yahoo, Google, Hotmail.  Firefox.  Blender.  Asterisk.  GCC. Wide range of business ready applications are available under opensource licenses. Advantages include open standards, cost saving.

Selecting OS Solution Reputation On going Effort Standards and Interoperability Support (Community/Commercial) Version (1.0?) Documentation Skill set License Coverage.

Is it Ready? You have: Accounting Database Word Processing Spreadsheet Presentation Preparation Browsers Graphic Manipulation Drawing And MUCH more...

IPR and Licensing FOSS is released under a variety of different licenses. There are two primary types of licenses and countless variants. The GNU General Public License and the BSD-style licenses. GPL: Users are allowed to do pretty much anything they want to a GPL program, including copying, distributing and modifying. The conditions of the license primarily affect the user when it is distributed to another user. BSD: These are among the most permissive licenses possible, because they basically permit users to do anything they wish with the software as long as: Attribution is given to the original licensor by including the original copyright notice in source code files; and No attempt is made to sue or hold the original licensor liable for damages. BSD-style licenses do not require the distribution of source code.

Can FOSS be combined with propriety software? Yes, Free/Libre'/OpenSource software can be combined with propriety software with no problem. For example, you can run propriety software on Linux (Oracle on Linux)

Questions