Open Source is defined as a software source code that is available to the general public and does not have licensing restrictions that limit use, modification, or redistribution.
So if the open source technology allows for the free use of softwares to install, update or alter without being liable for any copyright infringement. Why is a certain island’s companies so hesitant to make the transition to open source software?
One of the most trusted open source software is the operating system, Linux, which is the main rival to the Windows operating system. Apart from the obvious cost savings,Linux is said to be stable and generally immune to all forms of viruses and does not crash.
Ok, let me give you a scenario… You own a small office and your running Windows XP Professional on decently powerful machines. The question you face is, with a minimal budget for an upgrade what do you do. Do you put on Vista or a Linux that comes with business support like SLED 10 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) ?
Applications are, of course, another matter. In recent years, open-source alternatives to proprietary softwares have matured to the point where switching to these license-free alternatives have become more viable. With OpenOffice.org 2.0 right out of the box, it can handle basic Microsoft Office documents and spreadsheets without any fuss or muss. Similarly for years, Microsoft Internet Explorer has enjoyed near dominance of the Web browser space–but not any more. Since the release of Firefox an Open Source web browse created by Mozilla, Internet Explorer’s claim of superiority has been steadily eroding. Firefox has several advantages over IE which includes anti-spyware & mal-ware security, pop-up blocking, useful extensions & plugins, 100% CSS compliant (rejoice!! web designers rejoice!!) and it’s Free!
So what are your views? Do you think there are more takers for open source technology…Is the loyalty which this island’s companies seem to unconsciously have with Microsoft, diminishing?
i am not sure what is the advantage of an open source program… most people will use what works for them including myself.. i really don’t want to waste my time messing around with the source code if its not going to make me any money in the future.. i am really not concerned about whether a program is open source or not, all i require is that whatever software it is, my business gets done.
I think open source software is becoming more & more a viable alternative.. Jamaican ppl tend to b very difficult when it comes to changing… it took months but every machine in our office has Openoffice.org installed and is commonly used by our staff as the preferred desktop publishing app. Then again it cud b becuz they don’t have MS office to use ..but no complaints here!
I think that people are always afraid of change, and they prefer to keep using what they know even if a superior product comes along. I personally prefer Linux over MS-Windows, but as a software programmer/developer its difficult to make a living from open source (especially in the Island).
Also even though Linux is superior (more stable and more secure) to Ms-Windows, it requires some amount of tweaking, especially if you are more than just an average computer user, to get it to do the things you want it to do. For example, there are still some wireless (peer-to-peer) that the Linux guy need to work on. And there are still some things that are easier done in MS-Windows than in Linux.
So I done have a problem with open source it just takes a lot more time to get it to refine it. Also the support for these open source software is sometimes nonexistent. At least we can say that Microsoft did get one thing right.
I doubt the loyalty will diminish quickly based on the deal with Microsoft our previous government has made regarding licenses and plus the support the company provides. If we have more persons certified in Linux then probably the island’s loyalty to Microsoft will diminish. BTW How many percentage of professionals here are certified in Linux? Compare that to to number of professionals certified in Microsoft products and see if companies here are willing to stick with their existing software.
I have a bit of experience trying to convince a large Caribbean company to ween itself from ‘illegal’ Microsoft software to the MS software it can afford and Open Office for the rest of users. It has had mixed results. The techies in the organization seem to move quickly once they make that decision. The general organization seems to have a great deal more inertia.
They will return to the MS cave the instant they encounter the first navigational or utility difference in the new application. Once we remove completely the alternative and put adequate support in place, one very experienced user in the community, it does work.
This problem of companies not looking at open source is derived from the following.
Advertising
Strategic Training
and Self doubt
The west is Microsoft territory they introduce the trial of products and then after you accept the trial period you are hooked they only market their products they silence the suppliers, where it speaks to other brands and sometimes add perks for monopolistic shelf life of their products.
Strategic Training
The average Techie only knows about Microsoft and Cisco certifications, their companies dont know enough to make informed decisions, so Microsoft give them the training give thhem the toold to go back to the companies to experiment and a contact number from Microsoft to clean up if they mess things up any of you guys ever heard about Linux certification much less proper accessible end user support?
Self Doubt
We are very talented people we go allover the world and make our mark, we contribute to these same industries and yet we turn around and take our tax dollars and give to somebody else. We know what we want and we can figure out who are the shifters in the business all we have to do is make them accountable
take a place like UWI who have a TECHNICAL/IT Deppartment and then turn around and pay dell millions for computers just so they can get a free pda come on guys get real we are the same ones hurting our future.