Open Source — You need to know it!

Hey Guys,

I said that I’d have a podcast for you guys, but I don’t think that is going to happen — sorry guys!! I do want to talk about Open Source though and tell you what is so important about it!

Open source is a movement that began waaayyy back in the 80s. The whole idea was, “Instead of trying to hide how we made our software on the computer, why not publish the code to the software as well as the finished product?” Over time it developed into a community idea. So say I made an Open Source program. I’d put together a website and ask for others to help me in testing my software. Over time, assuming I had a good software package I’d attract a large following of programmers and enthusiasts who all work together to make my software better by suggesting patches and new ideas for making it better. In essence the software would be made by those that use it most. How cool is that for making your software secure, powerful, intuitive, and anything else that people like!

But I don’t program? What does this do for me?

Ah, you can greatly benefit from Open Source Software (OSS). Large companies that release proprietary software that was developed in a closed circuit don’t have the same resource that Open Source software has been allowed to access. Open Source software is free, and open (which is better than free.) It means that you will almost always find a community around Open source software. It also will tend to run smoother and provide you with better results that closed software. This is because Open Source software was built to work. It wasn’t built to make someone money.

So use what is best for you. Use Open Source whenever possible. You’ll find a lot of the software that I recommend is Open Source because it does what proprietary software does, only better :).

God Bless,
-Daniel Kolansky