The effect that Open Source Software has had on the IT world
Open Source Software (OSS) and open source Operating Systems (OS) are becoming increasingly popular amongst home computer users, corporations, and governments worldwide. Many enthusiasts claim that OSS will revolutionize the Information Technology (IT) world both on the consumer level and on the professional. To some extent OSS already has. Although Microsoft Windows XP is closed-source and is the default OS for about 95% of computers distributed today, the number of new systems shipping with the open source alternatives known as GNU/Linux is growing. Many large software companies are adopting Open Source policies at least in some small manner, in an effort to increase their appeal to customers ("The Truth about Freeware," 2005, issue 21:p. 9).
What exactly is Open Source? The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has developed a simple definition. “The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, and people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing” OSI has also developed a legal definition which they continually revise as more IT professionals and consumers are developing new technologies. (Open Source Initiative).
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