Comparison With Closed Source
The debate over open source vs. closed source (alternatively called proprietary software) is sometimes heated.
The top four reasons (as provided by Open Source Business Conference survey) individuals or organizations choose open-source software are: 1) lower cost, 2) security, 3) no vendor 'lock in', and 4) better quality.
Since innovative companies no longer rely heavily on software sales, proprietary software has become less of a necessity. As such, things like open-source content management system -- or CMS—deployments are becoming more commonplace. In 2009, the US White House switched its CMS system from a proprietary system to Drupal open-source CMS. Further, companies like Novell (who traditionally sold software the old-fashioned way) continually debate the benefits of switching to open-source availability, having already switched part of the product offering to open-source code. In this way, open-source software provides solutions to unique or specific problems. As such, it is reported that 98% of enterprise-level companies use open-source offerings in some capacity.
With this market shift, more critical systems are beginning to rely on open-source offerings, allowing greater funding (such as US Department of Homeland Security grants ) to help "hunt for security bugs."
This is not to argue that open-source software does not have its flaws. One of the greatest barriers facing wide acceptance of open-source software relates to the lack of technical and general support. Open-source companies often combat this by offering support sometimes under a different product name. Acquia provides enterprise-level support for its open-source alternative, Drupal, for instance.
Many open-source advocates argue that open-source software is inherently safer because any person can view, edit, and change code. But closed-source software—and some research -- suggests that individuals that aren't paid to scrub code have no incentive to do the boring, monotonous work.
Research indicates that the open-source software - Linux - has a lower percentage of bugs than some commercial software.
Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour explores the link between attitudes and behaviours. According to a pilot study of organisations adopting (or not adopting) OSS; several factors of statistical significance were observed in the manager's beliefs in relation to (a) attitudes toward outcomes, (b) the influences and behaviours of others and (c) their ability to act.
Read more about this topic: Open-source Software
Famous quotes containing the words comparison with, comparison, closed and/or source:
“What is man in nature? A nothing in comparison with the infinite, an all in comparison with the nothing—a mean between nothing and everything.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“The comparison between Coleridge and Johnson is obvious in so far as each held sway chiefly by the power of his tongue. The difference between their methods is so marked that it is tempting, but also unnecessary, to judge one to be inferior to the other. Johnson was robust, combative, and concrete; Coleridge was the opposite. The contrast was perhaps in his mind when he said of Johnson: “his bow-wow manner must have had a good deal to do with the effect produced.””
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“One man’s observation is another man’s closed book or flight of fancy.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“We are threatened with suffering from three directions: from our own body, which is doomed to decay and dissolution and which cannot even do without pain and anxiety as warning signals; from the external world, which may rage against us with overwhelming and merciless forces of destruction; and finally from our relations to other men. The suffering which comes from this last source is perhaps more painful than any other.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)