The Open Source Conspiracy

by Alden Smith

A lot of commercial software developers would like to see the open source community just go away. This community, numbering in the tens of thousands, produces some of the best software, from operating systems to image editing applications that are around today. It is entirely possible to build a robust operating system with everything you could possibly wish to have on a computer, and do so entirely free. The beauty of open source is the fact that it is constantly being tweaked and improved by the huge community of open source people. Here, we will take a look at open source - the community, their work, and what is available.

How Open Source Came About

The father of the open source movement, Richard Stallman, worked for MIT in the 80's. He developed a lot of good software, and was known for his work on LISP machines, computers designed to simulate artificial intelligence. Stallman was also an ideologue, and his mantra was "if you build it, you must share it." His theory did not sit well with commercial enterprises seeking to profit from breakthroughs.

Stallman went on to work on the GNU project, and was instrumental in writing the GNU Manifesto, that people say is either a brilliant document, or the rantings of a madman. Regardless, it is interesting reading. Stallman went on to found the Free Software Foundation, and continued his work.

Then, in 1991, Linus Torvalds entered the scene. He was working on a kernel project, and wanted to bounce his ideas off members of the foundation. To make a long story short, Linux was born.

Linux Today

Linux today has found respectability and is used in a lot of web servers and desktops. Although it doesn't have the market share of Windows or Mac, it is very popular just the same. I have run Linux and found it to be very stable, easy to work with, and offers a desktop that is hard to discern from other popular brands. The most popular version today is the Ubuntu program. It is free and can be downloaded from ubuntu.com. Ubuntu comes with everything you would expect in a commercial application, such as word processing, spreadsheets and instant messaging.

Open Office

The open source community goes way beyond just building operating systems. Available, again for free, is Open Office, a suite of applications that rival anything you pay for. Microsoft Office Pro OEM lists for $319.00 at Tigerdirect.com. Open Office does everything the MS Office does, yet is absolutely free. You also can be assured that if there are any bugs in an open source program that hackers all over the world are working night and day to fix it. This doesn't happen with commercial software, and makes using an application like Open Office a good choice for anyone. My only concern with using Open Office is this - if you do a lot of business on the internet and need to send documents for review to a company that doesn't use OO, they may have difficulty opening it. If you are simply writing a letter or printing off a newsletter, then you are home free. Not many people that are getting their first computer are involved in any kind of web commerce, so the use of OO is much more feasible.

Gimp

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. You may be aware of the Adobe suite of applications such as Photoshop. To purchase Adobe Photoshop, plan on spending $999.00. Photoshop is a very robust program, and is used by commercial graphics artists to manipulate and create images. It is an excellent program for people who wish to make a living doing graphical work. Gimp does everything that Photoshop can do, with a few very minor exceptions. You can retouch photographs, create fancy borders for scrap booking, and do just about anything you want regarding images and photographs. Because Gimp is free to all users, and is open source, it also has the support and development of the open source community.

Conclusions

Open source applications are not for everyone. They require some skill in setting up and preparing for use. A new computer user would be baffled by the dual boot system and how to make it workable. For those who have a bit of expertise with computers, however, open source programs are a very attractive option. Making yourself familiar with open source and the open source community can literally save you thousands of dollars if you decide that you need programs other than the basics that come with your computer when it is new. Check them out - the programs available today that are open source will astound you!