The intricacies of free, open source software (or FOSS) are very detailed (and sometimes political), so I won’t be going too deep here. What I will do, however, is outline the key benefits of FOSS over commercial software and why you – the user – should care. I will also be writing a blog on how you can get involved with FOSS projects (in both technical and non-technical ways) in the near future, so stay tuned!
Free vs Open Source
“Open source” relates to the “source code” – the bare-bones of the program – being freely available to the public. However, just making your source code “open” does not make the software FOSS. To be truly “free”, the software must obey the four freedoms published by the Free Software Foundation:
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1).
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3).
The freedoms allow you (the user) to effectively do whatever you like with the software, and use it for whatever purpose you like, as well as change and redistribute it as much as you like. The author of the software can distrubute the software under certain open source licenses, however these licenses have been vetted to uphold the four freedoms and serve to protect the author from exploitation rather than restrict the user.
Why You Should Care
So why should you – the user – care if the programs you use are FOSS or commercial? The truth is that many users don’t care, however there are an rapidly increasing number of FOSS applications that can compete with and even out-perform their proprietary rivals on performance, so the open source equivalent is very often better at the task. For some examples of great FOSS applications, check out my previous blog.
FOSS often has hundreds, possibly thousands, of developers looking at the code behind the application, so you can be confident that thousands of pairs of eyes have carefully scanned your program for vulnerabilities. If a flaw is found, anyone can submit a fix for it. These fixes can then be merged into the overall program and released extremely quickly and efficiently, so you are always getting the best software possible.
FOSS is also sustainable and user-driven. This is due to the thousands of volunteer users just like yourself, who populate support channels such as message forums, discussion lists and chat channels. If you’re having difficulties with an application, the chances are that someone else has had the same problem and has posted their solution in the support community. Developers do take notice of suggestions that users make in the community, so if you have a “Wouldn’t it be great if …” idea that isn’t currently implemented, the chances are that it will be implemented if it’s within the scope of the application.
Many people use proprietary software because they simply don’t know that anything else exists, and because they haven’t experienced anything better. Isn’t it about time that you thought about the quality of your computing experience?
Further Reading
Apart from sounding like a 1960′s advertising slogan, the title of this blog actually does have some relevance.