Maybe you've heard something about Open Source Software (OSS).  Maybe you've heard of Linux, or the Firefox web browser.  Maybe you haven't heard of any of them but you use Google and shop with Amazon.  Whichever category you fall into, you might be wondering why we at Axiom Tech feel so strongly that Free and Open Source Software is better than the proprietary software you're probably used to.

What is Open Source Software?

You're probably familiar with proprietary software that you buy in the shops, or that comes installed on your new computer.   You get a licence to use an application in certain ways (for example, on a specific computer).  Every now and again the company that makes it will release a new version, or a patch to fix a problem.  They might add new features and sometimes they'll stop selling the software (or go bust, or get bought out) so you have to find something else.

Open Source is a different way of creating computer software.  You're encouraged to use it without paying a licence fee.  You can install applications on as many computers as you like or give them (or sell them) to other people, completely legally.  You can modify the software yourself to fix problems or add new features (or you can find a friendly programmer to do it for you).

Who is using Open Source today?

Pretty much anyone and everyone with a computer is using Open Source Software, from the biggest multinational companies to individuals.

• When we use the Internet, most of the sites we visit are powered by Open Source Software and when we send emails, Open Source Software is normally involved in making sure they're delivered. 
  
• Pretty much every major IT company including IBM, Sun, Oracle and Novell are building their businesses around Open Source Software.  IBM has made over £2 billion from Open Source in the last few years and tens of thousands of IBM and Novell employees have Linux, instead of Windows, powering their PCs.
  
• Over three quarters of the 500 most powerful computers in the world run the Open Source Linux operating system.
• Across the UK and the world, takeup of Open Source in the private sector is well ahead of the public sector.  Commercial companies are seeing the potential of Open Source to provide excellent software at a lower cost.
  

How do you get hold of Open Source Software?

A piece of Open Source Software is an operating system or an application.  For example, Windows and Mac OS X are proprietary operating systems; Linux is an open source operating system.  MS Word and Internet Explorer are proprietary applications, OpenOffice.org and Firefox are open source applications.

You can have a mixture of Open Source and non-Open Source applications on your computer, and you can swap documents with other people who aren't using OSS.  For example, OpenOffice.org will run on your Windows PC or Mac and will read and write Microsoft Office files.  You can happily use OpenOffice.org, send files to your friends and colleagues with Microsoft Office, and they'll never know the difference.  You can even have OpenOffice.org and MS Office on your PC at the same time and just use whichever you prefer.

Because they're free it's normal to download open source applications from a website or be given them on a CD or DVD. The links at the bottom of this article nearly all take you to  pages where you can download and install Open Source applications.   If you've got a broadband connection, you could be a Firefox user in just a couple of minutes!

Often there's no reason to even know that an application is open source : just like any other application you get a copy, install it on your computer and it does the job.

Better for you

 The effect of Open Source is to give you control over your computer software.  No-one can hide nasty spyware in there, because programmers around the world can check the original source code.  You can't be locked into expensive upgrades because, if your supplier is charging too much, you can just go somewhere else.  You can get software with the features that you want and have it supported for as long as you like.

Better for the environment

The manufacture of a typical PC and monitor uses around 240kg of fossil fuels, 22kg of chemicals and 1500kg of water. Most modern PCs have a life of around six years, but most organisations aim to replace them every three years. Why? One reason is that the new whizzy software needs faster and faster computers to run on. They could probably continue using older software, but it isn't supported any more (so no security patches) and might lack some useful features.

OSS doesn't force people to upgrade and, because making huge profits is less of a motive, has enabled people to create modern, supported software than runs on older computers. Projects such as Access Space in Sheffield are using OSS to breath new life into discarded PCs and use them for community projects.

Better for the economy

You might have noticed that most software comes from a small number of very large companies.  Wouldn't it be great if the UK could regain the home-grown IT sector it had a few decades ago?  Wouldn't it be fantastic if countries in the developing world, where there are huge numbers of people with lots of talent but without much money, could develop their own IT sectors rather than seeing the money flowing out to make rich companies even richer?

Open Source Software offers that opportunity, and it isn't just a theory - it's happening right now in countries as diverse as China and Brazil.

When you spend money on Open Source Software (even though it doesn't have a licence cost normally, most organisations will want professionals to install it, support it and offer training) the money can go to local companies, building up businesses in your area.  Money spent on proprietary software licences is unlikely to stay so local.

Better for the community

Imagine if we could harness the intelligence and enthusiasm of more people, getting kids, the elderly and the unemployed involved in making music, creating films, designing graphics, learning office skills, programming software and all the other things we can do on computers these days.

It would be great but computer software isn't cheap.  What do we do if we can't afford it?  Either people miss out, or they use pirated (stolen) software which, apart from being illegal, often doesn't work properly or comes bundled with viruses and spyware.

There is another way.  Open Source Software can be used to do all of these things and it's free.  Schools can give it to students to install at home.  Community Centres can install as much software as they like, at no cost and with the blessing of the authors, and train people up.  Merci in Manchester offers training courses costing a fraction of the price that would be possible with proprietary software.

The result?  More trained musicians.  More artists.  More film makers.  More people with office IT skills.  More programmers.  More fun, more enthusiasm and more skilled people in the job market.

Better software

All this would be irrelevant if the software was no good - it has to do the job you need it to do.  Luckily there is a huge amount of Open Source Software that, for the needs of most people, is as good or better than proprietary alternatives.

To give just a few examples from the thousands out there

• Apache is the world's most popular web server, hosting about two thirds of all web sites.
• Firefox is generally acknowledged to be the best web browser around and wins thousands of converts from Internet Explorer every day.
• Thunderbird is an excellent alternative email client to Microsoft Outlook.
  
• OpenOffice.org, an alternative to Microsoft Office, is saving some organisations millions of pounds.
• The Linux operating system is gaining server market share faster than Windows with its reputation for being solid, dependable and virus-free.
• Mac users can start here for thousands of Open Source apps.
• The OpenCD is a free CD with lots of Open Source applications that run on Windows.  They won't interfere with any software you've got installed already, so give it a try.