Technological
Contents
The main characteristics of open source software
Customer pays for the solution
Currently, in the closed source software model, the user has to pay for every module as well as yearly upgrades. Since software is currently changing from a luxury item to a neccessity (what with internet penetration to the general public and office software suites), this "salamization" of software while the user pays for every slice, is considered unethical. On the other hand, in OSS:
- Software is a service. And it will evolve as one. The evolution in services is, using as an example a Public Administration, from a citizen paying per specific service rendered to paying a yearly, flat (small)fee and having all services at his disposal. This is the future for software, from a users' point of view.
Software develops in less, more frequent steps
In the closed source software model, analysts analyze how a procedure is performed, communicate this to project managers, who divide the work to developer teams, and manage them to accomplish the tasks at hand. Information is communicated through diferent groups of people, and every change takes and costs more. This is a bureaucratic model. On the other hand, in OSS:
- Software is a tool. When someone develops, essentially invents. When someone works on an issue and develops new software to address it, he invents his own tools. If he/she is also an experienced tool user (the issue he is working on is his job), he is also an expert on the issue, and quite capable to analyze what needs to be done and develop the right tools. And if the result is not up to the targeted standard, he/she develops some more. He/she releases regularly and often. It is an incremental approach. This is the innovation in Open Source Software, from a developers' point of view.
Interchanging ideas fosters evolution
In the closed source software model, the inner workings of the software are held secret in order to secure a competitive advantage over other vendors. This gives a temporary advantage to the developer, but only at a cost to the overall evolution of the software, since any brilliant ideas get to be hidden inside large binary files. If the developer cares only to sell the outcome and not to develop a decent tool for his job, this is acceptable. On the other hand, in OSS:
- Software is information. And as such, it has value only if it is disseminated. This way, everyone who has interest in the work that this tool has been developed to accomplish, will be able to get informed. And an informed participant is not just a User. Is a developer, a Beta tester, and an Analyst. And if there is something that he/she cannot accomplish well, if the project is well-known, someone would even like to take on the job. No one will decide for another that he should do something. If you want a job well done, the person that will do it would also have to like it. This is the bazaar.
Trends in computing
- Convergence is the main issue in mobile devices. All mobile phones in two years time will have megapixel cameras, will have equivallent processing power of a P3/256MB desktop, could be connected to Internet, and most of them will run Java (J2ME) programs.
