The Pros and Cons of Open Source Essay

The license was originally written by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation or (FSF) for the GNU project. According to Gnu General Public License, Version 3 29 June 2007 (2007), “The GNU General Public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works” (para. 1). Copyleft means a technique for creating a program whereby it is free; forcing any altered and expanded versions of said program to be free also.

Based on Davidson and Kumagai’s (2008) article, list three advantages and risks associated with open source software.

While researching the Open Source Software topic I found a wealth of information in the internet as well as many technical periodicals but, was most intrigued by the work of Richard M. Stallman in the book Free Software Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman, which will be used as on of the references in this research. An interesting point found in Mr. Stallman book is that most people hear the work Open Source Software and they immediately think Linux. While the

Software has become an integral part of our society. The economic success of our country depends on the success of the software industry. ``Open source ' ' software, software which users are allowed to modify and redistribute, is a very important part of the software industry

Not to be confused with pubic domain images, royalty-free images are those with a one-time fee, and allow usage across multiple instances and applications. To keep costs down, the usage agreement will include very specific language concerning image size, duration, and the type of industry the image will be used for. Think local or regional campaigns and smaller budgets. There are generally no limits to how often the image provider can sell the same image, however, so there’s always a risk that the same photo you use for your project may also show up in a

Free software is free, users can change code, and source code is available to anyone.

own set of original software and the appropriate number of manuals. It is illegal for a

In the textbook Practical Arguments, there are a series of essays over whether or not Wikipedia is an open source website, one of which is: “Anonymous Source is Not the Same as Open Source,” by Randall Stross. This essay discusses how, in its current state, Wikipedia is not an open source website, due to the fact that it does not have a specific supervisor to inspect all the information on the site. Instead, Wikipedia gets its content from thousands of individual, usually anonymous, sources that, together, make up the vast encyclopedia that is Wikipedia. In the essay’s entirety, Wikipedia is debunked as being an open source website, however, Stross does explain how this form of Wikipedia is just a beta test and may soon develop itself into an open source website. Through the use of logos, ethos, and pathos, Stross captures the reader’s attention and thoroughly backs his reasoning of why Wikipedia is not an open source website.

Contracts and licenses are the means by which people let their intellectual property out in a controlled way.

The Department of Defense (DoD) chose to incorporate open-source software (OSS), in their approach to the software development for the military organizations (O’Brien & Marakas, 2011).  The OSS approach is beneficial, because it allows users to study the computer code as a way to enhance and redistribute modified versions of the software to other users (Chief Information Officer, 2009).  The DoD wants software to be open for peer-review to strengthen the software reliability and be open to the public as a secure source.  John Scott of Mercury Federal Systems, helped to incorporate the DoD’s open-source changes to be used by the public, which was an effort to speed-up software development and improve the cost to make it more affordable to

When the term of copyright protection has expired, the work falls into the public domain. This means that the work, has effectively become public property and may be used freely. This is how so many companies can publish works by William Shakespeare, classical composers etc.

In 1994, a twenty-one-year old student named David LaMacchia at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed an Internet board where he encouraged others to upload copyrighted software programs like Excel 5.0, WordPerfect 6.0 and games like Sim City 2000. LaMacchia then gave access to others who could download these

The benefits of copyright security overwhelmingly exceed the detriments. There are all things considered a few detriments to remembering.

The Department of Defense (DoD) considers open-source software comparable to commercial, warranting attention during purchase decisions (O’Brien & Marakas, 2011). Open=-Source software is outlined as a software in which the code is available to use, make modifications, and distribute to other users. It also allows users to fix issues upon occurrence in place of waiting for the developer to resolve. This is beneficial not only for the DoD, but interfacing companies as well. By taking advantage of Web based services, development times and costs are reduced. This type software also eliminates companies which deal with the DoD from meeting specific requirements with other programs.

Copyright is defined as “the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording, etc.” (Copyright [Def.1], n.d). In the law, copyright protection insures that the authors are considered the owners of the work they create and they can therefor expect compensation if the work is used by anyone other than themselves. Copyright laws over the years have made great efforts to protect the creators and authors of constructed works; however, the ease by which materials can be obtained and distributed online has created