Is open-source software suitable for emerging businesses? Is it too complex for them to handle? Before we set down to answer these questions, let us first clear up some of the standard confusion surrounding open-surce and free software.
To start with does something being open source affect you? The availability of the source code is unlikely to be of any use to you, unless you are into programming yourselves, in which case this piece is not for you. Traditionally, opensource software has tended to be free of cost, and that has been a big draw, even for organizations with large IT budgets. But again that does not mean that everything about open source comes for free. You will have to pay to get it implemented.
Similarly, there is free software that is not open source. And these software too exist on multiple platforms including Windows, Linux and many more. Does it make a difference that the software is free, but not open source? Not to a user like you. Not really.
Does that mean that you should /could run your entire IT setup on free or open source software?
While potentially you could do that, we would strongly advise against such a step. The best IT managers in the world are mixing and matching free and commercial systems to get the best results. That is what you should do too. Each has strengths that you can and should exploit.
While open source and free software have their origins in philosophical differences on economic models, the fact is that they are here to stay and there is no reason why you should not take advantage of them.
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Free software is available for virtually every need, and to fit every size, be it the desktop or the server. You can find software for everything from productivity applications, multimedia and communication to CRM to Web servers, collaboration platforms and even
ERP.
More about Linux
Is open source = Linux?
There is a general feeling that open source is all about Linux. Not true. Linux is the most visible of open-source software. But there are many different applications that are open source and available on platforms like Windows.
Is everything on Linux free?
No. While the basic Linux distribution (version) is free, many applications that run on it are not. Oracle, or DB2 or SAP are all priced on Linux, and you pay the same price for these software, whether you run them on Linux or on Windows or on any other OS. If you choose a to buy say the RedHat Enterprise edition of Linux, you would end up paying an annual maintenance fee.
What is available? |
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Famous free/Open-source software for the desktop |
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Category | Name | Platforms |
Web Browser |
Mozilla Firebird |
Windows, Linux |
Mail Client |
Mozilla Thunderbird |
Windows, Linux |
Office Suite |
OpenOffice.org | Windows, Linux |
Graphics Package |
Gimp | Windows, Linux |
Anti spam |
Spampal | Windows |
Anti virus |
AVG Free Edition |
Windows |
MP3 Player |
Winamp | Windows |
Instant Messenger |
Yahoo Messenger |
Windows, Linux |
(This is not an exhaustive list) |
Linux distributions
A distribution is a variant. There are different distributions created to meet different needs.
Xandros is an easy to install and use desktop distribution. It is there in the DVD accompanying the August 2004 issue of
PCQuest.
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RedHat Enterprise Linux has workstation as well as server options available.
If you do not want to install Linux yet, but want to try it out, you can check out any of the live distributions available. A live distribution is one that does not need to be installed on the hard disk and will run off the CD. Knoppix is the first and the most famous of live distributions.