I recently attended an Open NI conference in Belfast about Open Source software at which Bruce Perens gave an influential talk. Bruce discussed the advantages of Open Source and why the leading companies in the world are turning to OS.
What is Open Source software?
Open Source software is free software. While the majority of us computer users use Windows and associated software (Word, Photoshop etc.) there is a small percentage (but large group) of people who use Linux and associated software, which is free. Firefox, Wikipedia etc. are examples of open source as they are free and the code behind the software is available for developers. Open source originates mainly from development teams rather than companies.
Who is Bruce Perens?
Bruce Perens created the open source definition, as previously it was know as ‘free software’. He’s involved in a number of OS projects.
Interesting points from the talk
- Differentiating software - makes your company look better than competitors e.g., Amazon
- Non-differentiating software - can give this software to competitor as it will make no difference e.g, Servers
- 95% of software in a company is non-differentiating e.g., Microsoft Office
- Open source puts the product first - it's not about a company making lots of money
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