Posted on February 26th, 2010Linux Environment: This is a given, granted, but no one can exclude the brainchild of Linus Torvalds when talking about open source. What was begun as a learning experience for a young programmer has now developed into a fully fledged adversary for the likes of Apple and Microsoft.
The advantages of Linux are obvious. Many heads are working hard to make an excellent OS. Thousands of users are participating as beta testers, running different architecture combinations, seeing what works nicely and fixing what doesn’t. A true communist haven in the computer world, very few capitalistic ambitions, just hundreds of thousands of people working together to benefit the community as a whole
For this reason, Linux is always become the cornerstone of open source society.
Ubuntu: Today it seems impossible to talk about Linux without mentioning the word ‘Ubuntu’ shortly after. It’s a Debian-based OS and has shown steady improvements with every release and definitely lives up to its namesake.
With Ubuntu, everything just works! You install it and off you go. Plug a digital camera in, it works. Plug a printer in, it works. Those are simple things that make a big difference to most end users. Not to mention the flexibility of the OS, the unique ability to alter its very foundation that it works on, the way it acts, responds and looks, and you have a very tempting proposition.
Better productivity: The open source community is a good example of what people can achieve when they’re working for love and passion, not money.
When top management and business models are removed from the development and production process, more time and effort are left for what really matters. There are no discriminating deadlines, no stockholders to placate – just goals to achieve and technical problems to overcome.
Better Security: Of course, it stands to reason that an OS developed by a vast community will evolve more quickly than something created by a software company. Now, with vast amounts of money changing hands over a digital super highway, security is very important. As such, it would be better to have thousands of bright people working happily on their spare time than a few over-worked developers high on caffeine. There is certainly a good reason why many major companies and government agencies choose to use Linux servers.
Better internet Experience: Yes, it’s a cliche but a large percentage of the very basics that constitute our web experience are built upon open source ideas. What would our cyberspace be like without PHP, Java, Apache, MySQL or Ruby on Rails?
Or indeed what would our web browsing experience be like without the Mozilla Foundation? Yes, a buggy, slow, and insecure browsing web environment, that sadly, many still experience today.
Better Customization: Whether it be icons, security settings, workspaces, or anything else, open source consistently lead the way in customization and innovation, for the obvious reason that you’re positively encouraged and legally allowed to tinker.
With full access to all codes, an advanced user can modify or optimize a code or completely change the own operating system for a very specialized requirement without breaking the law while they are doing so.
With a fully customized interface and functionalities you could potentially improve your productivity significantly.
Co-operation: Healthy competition among OS developers benefits end users. It ensures innovation, freedom of choice and support. Co-operation, however, can offer all of the above and some more. As a whole, the open source community shows a previously unheard of level of solid co-operation between developers, testers, distributors and users.
Availability: In open source community, even people from the poorest or the most remote countries can have open access to the online information, education opportunities and entertainment. The OLPC (One Laptop per Child) scheme has strived to bring the possibility to life and has altered thousands of lives to the better.