Open Source Movement - Strengths

Strengths

• The collaborative nature of the open source community creates software that can offer customizability and, as a result, promotes the adoption of its products.
• The open source community promotes the creation of software that is not proprietary, thus resulting in lower costs.
• The development of open source software within the community is motivated by the individual who has expressed interest in the code and software creation. This differs from proprietary software that is often motivated via monetary means.
• An open source tool puts the system administrator in control of the level of risk assumed in deploying the tool.
• Open source provides a flexibility not available in closed products. The hope is that If you make improvements to an open tool you'll offer them back to the original developer and community at large. The give-and-take of the gift economy benefits everyone.
• Open source licenses and software can be combined with proprietary software. While open source was initially thought to be a threat to corporations, some companies found ways to strengthen their proprietary code with open source code, re-releasing it as an improvement.
• In the event of market failure, programmers and innovators work together to make sure that the software still works

• Globalization of Market

The Open Source Movement has allowed smaller businesses to participate in the global economy. Before smaller businesses did not have access to the software needed to participate or compete in the global market. It was the larger corporations, the producers of the networks and software who had the power. “That is, individuals who have access to the software needed to create, organize, or distribute content can plug in to and participate in the global community”. The creation of the Open Source Movement has created “a degree of global computing access that might have been unthinkable in a world where proprietary was the only option.” Individuals or organizations with access to an open source had the means needed to develop technical material for a variety of consumers. The Open Source Movement created equal opportunities for people all over the world to participate in the global economy.

Members of the Open Source Movement stress the importance of differentiating between “open source” software and “free software”. Although the two issues are related, they are quite different. The open source movement and the free software movement are different but they work together. Both movements strive for freedom of the internet and dislike the idea of ownership over a website. For both open source and free software, one can find the source code and executable component easily and for free online. The largest difference is that free software requires any changes to be submitted to the original maker for redistribution, and any derivative software must also be distributed as free software. This is mainly to keep companies from making minor changes to free software and redistributing it as their own, for a price.

A major advantage to open source code is the ability for a variety of different people to edit and fix problems and errors that have occurred. Naturally because there are more people who can edit the material there are more people who can help make the information more credible and reliable. The open source mission statement promises better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in. They stress the importance of maintaining the Open Source Definition. This trademark creates a trusted group that connects all users and developers together. To fully understand the Open Source Definition, one must understand certain terms: Free redistribution means that there is no restriction on any party to sell or give away the software to third parties. Source Code means that the program must efficiently publicize the means of obtaining the source code. Derived works means that the program must allow certain works to be distributed under the same terms. There must be a promise of no discriminating against any certain persons or groups. All of these factors allow for the open source movement to become available to all and easy to access, which is their overall mission. The latest updates from the Open Source Institution took place on January 19, 2011: The OSI collaborated with the Free Software Foundation and together they updated a version of the request that they have sent to the US Department of Justice.