Why Open Source?

When I tell people I'm an Open Source enthusiast I get the same basic questions every time. This past week I went through this with someone and thought, hey that would be a good blog post. Since, I have already done one post on Linux and Android. The following is nothing more then the questions I always get and my answers to them.

What is Open Source?

Anyone that is from the US or familiar with our laws should be able to understand this by equating Open Source with the 1st Amendment. Let me clarify. The First Amendment is what gives US citizens freedom of speech. Open Source software is freedom to use and modify with no charge or penalties. Without infringing on patents or any other intellectual property rights. Let me use Linux as an example. Linus Torvalds wanted a version of UNIX for his home computer. Since he didn't have the money at the time he made his own using none of the original code in UNIX. Shared it free of charge to some people on the Internet basically with the only restriction they could not sell it. Since then Linux and Open Source has grow by huge numbers. Lots of professional and armature software developers have came together donating their time and work to anyone in the world that would like to use it. There has been a lot of companies that donate a portion of their workforce of developers to help support the projects.

Does it work?

Well, that would have to be a huge resounding YES! Linux and most other open source projects have proven to be more stable, more secure, and in many cases simpler to use.

Is Open Source safe?

Closed source software is maintained and updated by one company. They must fix security issues, code new features, and keep within a limited budget of time and money. Open Source on the other hand could have the entire world fixing security issues and everything else. Another benefit is that fact that spyware, viruses, and any other crappy things software could be is normally found right away. Since the source code is open to the public anyone could look at the code and see what is going on. What the software is doing with your information and what it's doing to your system. Anyone trying to do anything unscrupulous is found out rather quickly. This little fact has basically prevented most attempts to get anything into the software that wouldn't be agreeable to the community. One major point is there has never been a Linux compatible virus in the wild. Windows has the most and Mac comes in with a few minor ones but nothing that has been a big deal. Security patches are released much faster in the Open Source arena than any where else.

Instead of me just bragging why don't you down load a live version of Linux and check it out for yourself? The live versions boot from a CD/DVD and never touch the hard drive unless you tell it to install. So it's completely safe to try and will not harm your computer in any way. You can check out how you like it and realize it's about 20 times faster once it's installed.

I mean really, why would you take my word for it? I'm just a geek named rug, but that's what I think.

Comments

  1. Captain StumpySeptember 10, 2013 at 10:25 PM

    hey, didn't they just decide to put Linux in the space station for exactly the reasons you stated... plus the availability of open source allows them to write special programs that are specific to the nature of experiments, right? something like that...
    good article... think I might actually give it a go in the near future... gotta get my laptop running again, why not Linux it? windows is just giving me headaches.

    ReplyDelete
  2. rugSeptember 10, 2013 at 10:32 PM

    I don't know about the space station but that would make perfect sense. The special programs for experiments is right on the money. A lot of scientific models are ran on Linux just for that reason. Check the live version on your laptop first. If that works correctly then when you install it you shouldn't have any issues. The version I linked to in the post is one of the easiest to use. Some versions can be rather complicated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rugSeptember 10, 2013 at 10:33 PM

      Oh, and don't for get to back up your data before you install. :)

      Delete
    2. Captain StumpySeptember 11, 2013 at 1:01 AM

      roger that... I will dig it out this week or next...

      I read the UK article first, I think it was the Telegraph.... I don't remember, but here are some links that I found on the space station going Linux... I thought there was a phys.org article too, or maybe it was AAAS? I will look...

      http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/155392-international-space-station-switches-from-windows-to-linux-for-improved-reliability

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10049444/International-Space-Station-to-boldly-go-with-Linux-over-Windows.html

      http://www.zdnet.com/to-the-space-station-and-beyond-with-linux-7000014958/

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gender and Restrooms

Image
What does it matter what restroom people use? Do you have separate bathrooms in your house for males and females?  Does a female using the toilet after a male or vice versa cause some kind of harm to them? From: openclipart.org Obviously, the answer is there is no harm. People share bathrooms all the time in their houses. Thus it doesn't really matter. There has been a lot of commotion about trans people using restrooms that conform to their gender identity. Many states have even made laws to prevent such things. My simple response to these dumbasses is, "Get over it." However, I should probably explain. I have heard a few dads talk about how they don't want their daughters to use the bathroom with a man in there. Well, they are not. Even if an trans female (often snidely referred to as a male) is using that restroom they have separate stalls. Going the other way, a trans male using the mens room is probably using the stall because gender reassignment surger
Read more

Odd Things About The Bible

I've read the bible many times and recently I've been thinking a lot about some of the things found in the bible, what religious people find deplorable, and how many of the things they hate are in the bible. Here are a few examples based solely on word definitions and characters and their actions in the bible. Bastard - a person born of parents not married to each other. Is it just me or does this describe Jesus? Adultery - voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. This may or may not describe God and Mary. While the bible never says if God and Mary had sex, she did get pregnant by God and I only know of one way that is possible. There is also the conflicting passages saying she was married to Joseph and wasn't married yet in a different book of the new testament. Sinner - a person who transgresses against divine law by committing an immoral act or acts. I find this one to be the oddest. One of God's laws is
Read more

Atheism - The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Disclaimer: I have chosen my words carefully on this topic and I would appreciate you doing the same. Preaching and/or derogatory comments about me or anyone else will not be accepted. The Overview: There are many misconceptions about atheism and what it means to be an atheist. I thought it would be a good idea to clear these things up right from the start. First, atheism is not a religion. This can be proven by simply looking up the definitions of the words. Atheism has nothing to do with science, politics, or any worldview (if that term even means anything). Atheism is only a stance on one subject, the belief in a god or any god. That's it. Just the one thing. Does that surprise you? Atheism does not have any special book or godma. There is no other beliefs that is necessary to be an atheist besides the rejection of the god claim. Therefore, nothing can be done in the name of atheism. Not the good things people do like donating to charity or leading a country to prosperity.
Read more