Writing a pro Open Source argumentative essay.

[RussianVodka]

It's supposed to be about 8 pages long. The first draft is due tommorow. I'm gona be arguing about why open source is better.

Can someone help me with comming up with things to argue about. I'm gona mention Novell's "Unbending the Truth" and if I can find the articles, about various European governments switching to open source software.

Any ideas about what other things I should talk about.

[FoolsGold]

Something about the lack of lock-in to a specific company would be useful, plus the disadvantages of such a lock-in should be easily explainable.

Just be wary of stating ideology, and instead focus on the practical benefits. That's my advice. :)

[Daveski]

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2185308/french-parliament-switches
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6430069.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6270657.stm
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8586/53/1/0/

and of course:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software

[ComplexNumber]

off the top of my head:
-security - because everyone has access to the source code, it is inherently more secure. people can see if a program is, for example, a trojan, in disguise. and because of that, a security update can be issued immediately.
-speed of patching. see "security".
-pace of development - similar reasons to security.

[aysiu]

This link (http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22benefits+of+open+source%22&btnG=Search) should help you.

[RussianVodka]

This link (http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22benefits+of+open+source%22&btnG=Search) should help you.

Thank you very much :D. But I was hoping that people could maybe post some articles that they already knew of to be good, so that I don't have to sift through all the biased and untrustworthy websites that google tends to spit out.

[jinx099]

Wow, I was just about to post a similar thread because I am writing a 10-page paper related to OS's, and I wanted to write something about open source software and OSes. I need to have a 1 page topic proposal for Tuesday with sources, so I'll be watching this thread!

:)

[ComplexNumber]

Thank you very much :D. But I was hoping that people could maybe post some articles that they already knew of to be good, so that I don't have to sift through all the biased and untrustworthy websites that google tends to spit out.
this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source) may be of help.

[H0tSh0t]

I am sure you have seen this one

http://www.invbiznews.com/wordpress/france-chooses-ubuntu-linux/

[RussianVodka]

Wow, I was just about to post a similar thread because I am writing a 10-page paper related to OS's, and I wanted to write something about open source software and OSes. I need to have a 1 page topic proposal for Tuesday with sources, so I'll be watching this thread!

:)

Hah. Are you in WRT102? I just finished the research paper about open source and closed source software, and not I have to write an argumentative essay in which I argue for one of them.

[IYY]

A very important argument against Open-Source that you will have to refute:

"If you make all software free, how will people make money from it? Isn't it killing a market and destroying jobs?"

The correct answer is this:

"Most jobs in IT do not involve creating software from users. The jobs are mainly in implementing solutions (open source makes this easier), in developing software for a very specific use rather than for customers (it's legal to use open source code, modify it for your use and never release your modifications as long as you don't release the result outside of your company), creating Internet services (open source obviously shines here!). So, the lost jobs, the ones that involve creating software products, are only a small segment, and the larger segment that involves selling software as a service grows."

[jinx099]

Hah. Are you in WRT102? I just finished the research paper about open source and closed source software, and not I have to write an argumentative essay in which I argue for one of them.

Umm, no. I go to Colorado State University, where do you go?

[RussianVodka]

Umm, no. I go to Colorado State University, where do you go?

One of the NY State University's. But I thought the WRT102 class and the three main essays for it were universal?

[jinx099]

One of the NY State University's. But I thought the WRT102 class and the three main essays for it were universal?

No clue. I did have to take a writing/ composition class here at CSU, it was called CO150. We wrote a few essays on specific topics, but they were pretty short. I have to write a bunch of essays this semester, and I'm no writer :(

[Spr0k3t]

Something to consider in the writing is the battle of the browsers. The big three being Internet Explorer, Mozilla types, and Opera. Of the three, Mozilla source is open... and the thorn in the side of MS with their $16bil IE7 (yes, that's billion). There's a darn good reason why FOSS has a stronger drive, the applications are written by the people for the masses instead of for the people by MS. While Opera is not free as in choice, it is still a driving proponent of the quality found in browsers. FOSS is self propagating and encourages to build better applications and development tools (Eclipse as an example, include footnote and reference). From each source tree you can find various forks on to other fantastic applications. In the Eclipse tree alone there are several self standing applications which contribute to the success of Eclipse.

If you mention OpenOffice and want to quantify a claim of "being behind the times", you can cite "MS Office is ten years ahead in technology over the average computer user." (Anon User)

There's tons of information out there. You just need to find what you want to argue for.

[az]

I would start be defining open source, free-libre software and proprietary software. When you say open source, I beleive you are referring to software freedom.

Most people bundle the terms "open source" with "free software", so it doean't matter in most conversations. But since you are deliviering an authoritative study on the topic, it may be better to use the accurate terminology. For example, "freeware" is not free-libre. Freeware is proprietary software.

For a great start on sofware freedom, see:
http://softwarefreedomday.org/SoftwareFreedom

I wouldn't presume to proclaim that free-libre open source software is better than proprietary software. It is for me, but it really depends on your needs. For users, they get the benefit of software freedom and the choice to decide what goes on in their own computers.

For developers, they get the freedom to "stand on the shoulders of giants' and reuse existing world-class code to make computers do bigger and better things.

For business, Floss creates opportunities that do not exist in the proprietary world.

That's a lot of people who can benefit from Floss. There are lots of other people for whom using Floss for the sake of using Floss does not make sense (yet).