O is for Open Source
Open source is a wave that has been growing
in the software community for a number of years. This goes back to a little to the
Crowdsourcing post I did on day C. The
way the system works is that software is written, but the code is released to
the public and shared on the internet.
For the uninitiated the code is what programmers write and then they run
it through a program called a compiler so that the computer understands it and
then it is a program that you can run on your computer (well that is a very
simplistic look at it). Historically,
companies did not want to release their code out to the public as that would in
their mind ruin their competitive advantage of having really good and novel
programs.
To my understanding Apple would not let
their compilers out, which gave them the advantage that all of the software
that was written for Apple machines had to be written by them, so that they
could optimize it for their specific hardware configurations and ensure the
stability of their operating system.
Microsoft came along and although did not let people see their code of how
DOS or Windows, they did allow people to compile their own programs to run on
their operating system. This allowed for
a lot more titles to be released for use on the Microsoft platform. It was the late 1990’s that Apple signed a
deal with Microsoft that paved the way for all software to be usable on both
operating systems.
You may be asking why I am giving a lesson
on operating systems well because along came a third system called Linux. Now Linux is completely open, if you do not
like how something is put together or works on a Linux machine you are
completely able to go and re-write something to your satisfaction. Many people have and that is why if you were
to look at the Linux world there is many different flavours of Linux for
whatever you are looking for. Linux is
generally very stable and is the backbone to most servers on the internet.
Well this also extends beyond operating
systems to other software as well. There
is also a movement to extend this into hardware design, known as Open
Hardware. To protect the intellectual
property that people publish to the world, it is published with a GNU license
that states that it cannot be used for commercial purposes.
How do you monetize your efforts with open
source products you may be asking? Well,
the biggest way is that people will sell service to people and businesses that
need it. So if you use the software and
you cannot figure it out from the documentation or you want a high level of
service from the producer, then you pay for that from them. This is generally how the industry works with
that.
No comments:
Post a Comment