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Open Source Software - What Is It? How Can It Help You?

Most people often do not realize the benefit of using open source software to accomplish many tasks that they do on their computers. They believe that paying for software is a necessary evil to achieve their goals. Many times this is the case, but there are cheaper and even free alternatives to expensive software that people can take advantage of to save them money. Sometimes, these cheaper alternatives are more robust and more functional than their expensive and more well-known counterparts.

What is Open Source Software?

Open source software is software that can be downloaded, viewed, and modified by anyone wishing to do so. This is in contrast to proprietary software where the software, or code, is only accessible and can only be modified by a particular company, group, or team. One of the most well known organizations of open source software is Apache that provides everything from web servers to databases to packages that help develop systems using artificial intelligence. On the proprietary side, Microsoft is well-known for their Windows operating systems and office productivity suites.

Open source software is used by many organizations and companies to solve many technical challenges. Many individuals also use open source software to help with their day-to-day tasks. If there is a proprietary software product that has a particular functionality, more than likely an open source alternative can be found. Also, open source software is available for many operating systems including Windows, MacOS, and the different flavors of Linux. Below are examples of different types of software that have an open source option:

Software Type	Proprietary Software	Open Source Software
Operating System	Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS	CentOS, Fedora, Ubuntu
Office Suite	Microsoft Office	LibreOffice
Accounting	Quickbooks	GnuCash
Image/Graphic Editing	Adobe Photoshop	GIMP
Video Editing	Apple iMovie	OpenShot
PDF Viewing/Editing	Adobe Acrobat	Scribus, LibreOffice, GIMP
Web Browser	Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox

There are advantages and disadvantages to using open source software. Some of these are shown below:

Open Source Advantages	Open Source Disadvantages
Oftentimes cheaper than proprietary software. Many times, it is free!	Sometimes need to be willing to self-support and search the Internet for issues.
Many projects and packages to choose from for just about any task.	Smaller open source projects sometimes fold and no one picks up the project.
Larger projects have many developers or contributors fixing issues, enhancing the software, and documenting it making the software more robust, secure, and functional.	Documentation for some projects may be sparse.
Tech savvy individuals can look at the source code and make changes that suit their needs.	Some packages have to be compiled to be installed.
Users have more control of how they use the software (i.e. no need for multiple licenses for multiple users) and can see what the code is doing.

Like all software packages, research before getting too entrenched in using it! Some things to ask before using an open source package are:

How many years has the software been around?
How big is the user base?
Is there enough information on the Internet to help with debugging and troubleshooting if issues arise?

MaJillo Virtual uses open source software for many tasks. Most of MaJillo’s web development is done on a laptop/desktop with the Fedora Linux operating system. Image editing is performed using GIMP. MaJillo Virtual uses GnuCash for accounting.

If open source software sounds intriguing, more information can be found at Opensource.com or if you want to know how open source can help you, contact me!