Transcript FOSS - Hanna Kreitem – حنا قريطم

Free and Open Source Software
is it ready?
PICTI 19/9/2006
Hanna Kreitem
Expectations
OpenSource ?!
Open Source Software/Free Software programs are programs whose licenses give
users the freedom to run the program for any purpose, to study and modify the
program, and to redistribute copies of either the original or modified program
(without having to pay royalties to previous developers).
FSF freedoms:
The freedom to run a program, for any purpose;

The freedom to study how a program works and adapt it to a person’s needs.
Access to the source code is a precondition for this;

The freedom to redistribute copies so that you can help your neighbour; and

The freedom to improve a program and release your improvements to the public, so
that the whole community benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for
this.

OpenSource Philosophy

Promotes open access and sharing.

Promotes collaborative work.

Not only limited to software:

Education: OpenCourseWare (MIT), OpenCurriculum.

Community and development: TakingITGlobal.org

Media: LiveJournal, WikiNews, blogs.

Open source movies: Elephant's Dream, World's first open movie.
directed by Bassam Kurdali.

OpenCola, OpenBeer.

Wikipedia, Wikitionary, Wikiquotes, Wikibooks.
History

1960's and 1970's CS labs, the community of programmers shared
improvements.

1970's and 1980's, began to conflict with propriety software.

1984 GNU project was born, various tools. FSF established later.


1991 Linus Trovalds write a UNIX-like kernel, Linux, which will fomr together
with the GNU tools an operating system (GNU/Linux).
1997/8 GNU/Linux exploded into press spotlight, with 25% server market
share and high growth rate. “OpenSource” came out.
Development Method
The Cathedral and the Bazaar (1997, Eric S. Raymond)
Cathedral

Conventional closed source
development
Bazaar


Central planning.


Tight organization.


One process from start to finish.

Developers spend time on finding
bugs and
handle feature
requests.


Main Open Source development
process.
Grows organically.
Anyone can submit suggestions and
discuss them.
Users are treated as co-developers.
users can point directly to bugs, even
fix it.
benefits of the OpenSource development
method

Reduced duplication of effort.

Building upon the work of others.

Better quality control.
Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow

Reduced maintenance costs.
Why OpenSource? (Benefits)

Less dependence on imported technology and monopoly.

Ability to customize/translate/and localize software.

Building Software capacity: Low entry barriers, excellent training system.

Participation in global network of software development.

Less vulnerable to viruses and attacks (Faster Actions).

Open Standards/Formats -Vendor Independent.

Reduced Piracy (IPR, WTO).

More reliable/stable.

Looks good!

Reduced costs - affordable software for individual, enterprise, and
government.
Cost saving example
Client Inventory List
Client Name: ***
Date: 24 November 2005
Space No. *
Quantity
Unit price
Total price
Depreciation
Persentage
Depreciation
amount
Book Value of
Assets
1
3
1
1,085.00
1,085.00
120.00
1,085.00
3,255.00
120.00
4,460.00
25%
25%
25%
271.25
813.75
30.00
1,115.00
813.75
2,441.25
90.00
3,345.00
Win XP
Office 2003
Acrobat Professional Ver 6
Outlook 2003
Winrar
4
3
3
3
3
100.00
50.00
620.00
27.78
25.00
400.00
150.00
1,860.00
83.33
75.00
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
80.00
30.00
372.00
16.67
15.00
320.00
120.00
1,488.00
66.67
60.00
Symantec Antivirus Ver 10
Sub Total
4
60.00
240.00
2,808.33
20%
48.00
561.67
192.00
2,246.67
3
1
1
3
4
650
465
390
80
68.00
1,950.00
465.00
390.00
240.00
272.00
3,317.00
10,585.33
15%
15%
15%
15%
15%
292.50
69.75
58.50
36.00
40.80
497.55
2,174.22
1,657.50
395.25
331.50
204.00
231.20
2,819.45
8,411.12
Hardware & Office Equipments
Server
Desktops
Telephone Sets
Sub Total
)Software & ToolsNo of Licenses)
Furnitures
Computer work table one unit
No. 2400
Round
work table 120/120 No.
3034
Large book shelves No. 5051
Chairs for Staff
Chairs for round table
Sub Total
Grand Total
Maintenance and updates

Average time required * per machine.
Shortcomings of OpenSource

Lack of some applications, alternatives available, but still.

Interoperability with propriety systems (non-open standards).

Polish and not user friendly!! nah, look at this desktop.
OpenSource and Governments
Governments are increasingly embracing the use
of open source software.
Brazil, France, Germany, Argentina, Spain, EC, China, Finland,
South Korea, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South
Africa
Break
Linux
Linux is the most frequently heard FOSS buzzword in the mass media today.
However, because of its common usage, the term Linux has been used to refer
to broader and broader definitions. It is important to understand the different
definitions of Linux to be able to follow the discussions on FOSS.

Linux the kernel.
Linux the distribution:
contains the Linux kernel at its heart and all the
FOSS components required to produce full operating system functionality

Linux Tour
Where can one obtain Linux?
Most Linux distributions are free and downloadable from the Internet. The
following is a table of some of the most popular distributors of Linux:
Popular Linux Distributors
Debian
www.debian.org
Redhat
www.redhat.com
SuSe
www.suse.com
Mandriva
www.mandrivalinux.com
SlackWare
www.slackware.com
TurboLinux
www.turbolinux.com
The advantages of going with distributions of Linux are many. The single most
important advantage of vendor Linux over “stock” Linux is that it saves users
time, and provides ready to use set of applications.
OpenSource Business Solutions
Wide range of business ready applications are available under opensource
licenses.
Advantages include open standards, cost saving.
Examples:

OpenXchange.

Apache. (65%)


Suse Linux Enterprise
Server/Desktop.
MySQL.

Netbeans / Eclipse.

Tomcat.

Wiki, Yahoo, Google, Hotmail.

BIND (90%).

Firefox.

OpenOffice.

Blender.

CRM: SugarCRM, VtigerCRM

Asterisk.

DMS: KnowledgeTree,
Alfresco.

GCC.
Selecting OS Solution

Reputation

On going Effort

Standards and Interoperability

Support (Community/Commercial)

Version (1.0?)

Documentation

Skill set

License

Coverage.
Is it Ready?
You have:

Accounting

Database

Word Processing

Spreadsheet

Presentation Preparation

Browsers

Email

Graphic Manipulation

Drawing
And MUCH more...
IPR and Licensing

FOSS is released under a variety of different licenses. There are two primary
types of licenses and countless variants. The GNU General Public License
and the BSD-style licenses.


GPL: Users are allowed to do pretty much anything they want to a GPL program,
including copying, distributing and modifying. The conditions of the license primarily
affect the user when it is distributed to another user.
BSD: These are among the most permissive licenses possible, because they basically
permit users to do anything they wish with the software as long as:

Attribution is given to the original licensor by including the original copyright
notice in source code files; and

No attempt is made to sue or hold the original licensor liable for damages.

BSD-style licenses do not require the distribution of source code.
Can FOSS be combined with propriety
software?
Yes, Free/Libre'/OpenSource software can be combined with propriety
software with no problem. For example, you can run propriety software on
Linux (Oracle on Linux)
Questions