Open Source Software Essay

Free and Open Source bundle has been around for quite some time. Free bundle has always been a controversy. This time someone is laborious to take a stance against it. More than just someone but a major software system company namely Microsoft. The whole issue is coming against software patents. Patents are thither to protect the bring about, occasion, and interchange of an contrivance but in this case would deal with software. Microsoft is not keen on the idea of software being readily available especially to stage businesses at little to no personify.In the business macrocosm this is unheard of. To let companies take control and create custom software with almost no cost is being attacked. Microsoft is quoted in a CNN Money condition Microsoft takes on the free world as saying, We exit in a world where we honor, and support the honoring of, intellectual property, They were quoted as calling this a intimacy of principle. I can understand principle and Im definitely n ot against making money. I recall that enough is enough. Free and Open Source Software is there to benefit the public.In suggesting that business owners need only buy licensed software or that business owners are only make to purchase said software is irrational. Putting aside costs, theoretically lets say there is a software developer that is hired by a company to create custom software. This company favors Linux alternatively than Windows not to say that Windows isnt a great operating system but to say that someone does not have the freedom to create is ridiculous. To limit this company because of some alleged patent laws is preposterous.Eben Moglen, old counsel to the Free Software universe and head of the Software Freedom Law Center, says that, software is a mathematical algorithm and, as such, not patentable. This statement is critical because of the seeming less attack on inventors and software developers. Software has always been improved and with the strict patent laws associated with Microsoft there is no inventing unless its specifically for Microsoft. There needs to be a line drawn and some slack given as to what is actually infringing on patents and what is hindering creativity and innovation.There are current lawsuits with Microsoft versus FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). This has been referred to as a cold war. One side saying they will sue if the early(a) continues to produce and the other saying that if you sue we will be forced to sue back. FOSS has always been under attack since it began. specifically attacked is Linux. In PCWorld Microsoft Vs. Open Source Now Its Political, Once you leave the shores of the U. S. the question would be not if but where is Linux being used in government, said Matthew Szulik, chief executive officer of Linux software nobleman Red Hat.The industry is in agreement that government use of open-source software particularly is maturation amongst popularity. As much as I would like this to mostly be ab st ep up freedom of invention and creativity the bottom line is that at the end of the day its all about money. No one sees the need to be forced to buy ongoing licensing to use software that most believe the costs are bonny unreasonable. Of course the government is not about spending. (Right? )As quoted in the article Microsoft Vs.Open Source, Price aside, government officials around the world are also looking for ways to adjoin use of local software and curb the export of IT funds to major U. S. companies. That is the case in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Money makes the world go round. The whole fear that Microsoft has is that it will hurt the pockets of Microsoft. Windows chill out powers roughly 9 out of 10 traditional backcloths, with the rest going to Mac and Linux. Linuxs misfortune to capture desktop share is disappointing to many, Zemlin admitted.But the good news is the traditional PC desktop is becoming less important, and areas where Linux is very strong in terms of client computing are becoming more important. as expressed in an article of Network Wold Bashing Microsoft like kicking a puppy, says Linux Foundation chief. We could argue that Microsoft is just some big heartless corporation that wants to make money. That is true they are and honestly if anyone expected them to respond in any way different was severely delusional.The act does need to be reformed to show exactly that which is crossing the line in creating software and tying the hands of developers. The regard surrounds the open source code that exists and who should have access to this code. From a business perspective giving out that information obviously would be detrimental to the success of the company. While Microsoft is currently the most dominant software in the business world I doubt that business would be ready to just make a leap to Open Source Software.In the technical world not everyone is a electronic computer geek. Microsoft still has the suppor t to help customers. The shift will take a while and to take deal a giant such as Microsoft is not impossible but not something that will materialize overnight. The large factor in this is the ignorance of other Operating Systems on a general knowledgebase. Companies and governments that choose to use this FOSS should have the choice. A need for a revision of patent rights and software development need attention.