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akiratheoni
March 25th, 2008, 12:25 AM
Alright I'm currently writing an essay about the benefits of open source software. The essay will examine the history and philosophies of open source software and the benefits and why it is being used.

However, this is no normal essay. I also need to cite tons of sources and I also need to explain the disadvantages of open source software as well as, if possible, conceding some points to the opposition.

The essay itself needs to be 8 pages long and my first draft is due tomorrow. I have three pages down right now but i need help analyzing it and for any factual errors.

The organization of my essay is TERRIBLE, I know. It jumps around a LOT and I don't know what's the best order of putting things.

Now, it's not so much new information I need, I know almost everything I'm going to write. I just need help organizing it, defining unknown/ambiguous terms, and explaining open source and its history in an easier to understand fashion.

The only 'new' information I will need is disadvantages of open source. I only have centralization and funding... I can't think of anything else.

Here's the essay:

Microsoft has dominated the operating system industry for years; its release of Windows XP has become the most widely used operating system in the world, accounting for over 85% of desktop operating systems worldwide. Its office suite, Microsoft Office, has become the business standard and almost every computer must have Microsoft Office installed on it to become remotely useful in business. Their browser, Internet Explorer, has seen a slight market share decline recently however it is still the most used browser in the world and the beta release of Internet Explorer 8 is promising, with standards-compliance and new cutting edge features not seen in other browsers.

Windows first came to fruition in 1985 when consumers demanded that MS-DOS, Microsoft’s first operating system, should have a graphical user interface, similar to Apple’s Macintosh; previously, users needed to type commands to launch programs instead of clicking on an icon. Windows 95 was the sure-fire hit of Microsoft, introducing the now-popular Start Button and the distinct colorful Windows logo. However, it was Windows XP that brought Windows to users worldwide. Recently, Microsoft released its successor to Windows XP, dubbed Windows Vista. It was lauded as the most secure Windows Microsoft has released (computerworld.com) and promised more compatibility with devices and a shiny, darker interface.

However, due to security issues and the widespread use that has left Windows the target of exploits and intrusions, the need for alternatives have risen; the most popular being Apple’s Macintosh OSX along with the free operating system Linux. Mac OSX has gained a positive reputation among the younger crowd because of its sleek and “hip” look and Apple’s popular portable media player, the iPod, has helped boost awareness. Linux, on the other hand, has been thought of as the “hacker” and geek operating system; its philosophy for operating systems is completely different than that of Windows and Mac OSX.

The main difference between Windows and Mac OSX versus Linux is how the operating system is developed. To understand the freedom of Linux, it is important to learn the history. When the computer first became commonly used in universities such as MIT, it was assumed that the source code, the language in which a computer program is created, would be shared among other developers and programmers. The term used to describe this openness of the source code is “free software”. It is important to note that the term “free” in English is ambiguous; free software is a “matter of liberty, not price.” The Free Software Foundation describes software freedom as “free as in free speech, not free beer.” There are other words for free software, the most common being the newer term “open source”, describing the openness of the source code. The antithesis of free software is proprietary software, or non-free software; this occurs when the source code for software is not shared and is popular among companies such as Adobe and Microsoft. Proprietary software is received ‘as-is’ and cannot be modified.

What was the point of having the source code available? It gave the developers the freedom to modify the software they had to suit their needs; for example, a printer was modified to send a message to all users when it was jammed, or when a print job was sent, it would alert the user. But soon, manufacturers stopped distributing the source code to their software to prevent it being run on competitor’s computers; this infuriated MIT lead programmer Richard Stallman. In response, he announced the GNU project, which was to have been a free operating system compatible with Unix, a popular but proprietary operating system. The name GNU is a recursive acronym for Gnu’s Not Unix. He also founded the Free Software Foundation which outlined the essential software freedoms. These rights are:

• To run the program as they wished
• To study and modify the program to suit their needs
• To redistribute exact copies of the program
• To redistribute modified versions of the program

Along with the GNU project, Stallman wrote the GNU General Public License. It is the most popular license today; over 65% of programs listed on the popular free software sites Freshmeat and Sourceforge are licensed with the GPL. If software is licensed with the GPL, it allows anyone to see and modify the source code; however, any derivative work must have the accompanying source code when it is being distributed.

In 1991, the GNU operating system was almost complete. However, it was missing one portion, the most important part of an operating system: the kernel. But when Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds started a side project in developing a kernel that he later called Linux, the GNU operating system became GNU/Linux, or Linux for short.
Since then, the Linux kernel along with the GNU operating system has become the best example of free and open source software. It has grown from 10,000 lines of code since its initial release to over five million lines in its last milestone release, 2.6, in December of 2003. It is the best example of free and open source software and the contributions of the community that have improved it since day one.

But, what benefit does an open model of software have against a proprietary and closed model? Proprietary software tends to have a better degree of centralization as there is an organization backing the software such as Microsoft or Apple. Since there is more centralization than free software, then there is someone to lead the development of software; Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, notes that commercial companies can “provide a roadmap [and] indemnify customers” (PBS). There is no indication that the code in open source software is of top quality; after all, the code in the popular Mozilla Firefox web browser could be from either a professional programmer, or an amateur fifteen year old teenager.

Remember, it's not done yet!!

Also the draft that is due tomorrow is going to be peer-edited so I will update with more.

Another note: I need a way to explain the differences in philosophy between open source and free software without making the essay too long or breaking flow, etc.

Sam Lars
March 25th, 2008, 01:20 AM
There's always the issue of user base for FOSS. Something like a desktop OS that millions use has a huge user base, hence a huge developer base. Something like a purpose-built program for industry, etc. has a much smaller and specific user base, and it's hard to develop something like that that so few people use.

Irihapeti
March 25th, 2008, 01:28 AM
I think that another downside to FOSS is documentation. Granted, some programs have brilliant documentation. A lot, though, do not. Man pages can be bewildering, or so sparse as to be of little help if you don't already know how to use the program. Some programs don't have any help files.

I suspect that there's an element of writing software for fellow geeks, who don't need (basic) things explained to them. It's easy to forget that not everyone thinks the same way.

Sam Lars
March 25th, 2008, 02:03 AM
Documentation? Have you seen some of Microsoft's "documentation?" Possibly it's worse because with Open Source you can go see it for yourself and anyone can take up development and help document, while with MS, if they do a terrible job, then you're stuck with that and searching the net...
I'd much rather have forums like this and the documentation we have.

akiratheoni
March 25th, 2008, 03:57 AM
Thanks for the help guys. I've completely rewrote my essay but I dunno if i'm going to post it here until my draft is reviewed and such. Thanks.