Technological Uncertainities
- What is open source software?
Open source software (OSS) is a collection of tools and operating systems which have core codes that can be accessed for free and can be modified or improved upon by programmers. The only provision is that the modified codes must be available for other programmers to access to learn from, modify and to continue innovation. Some famous open source software includes Linux, Apache and Netscape. Advocates of OSS claim that allowing the public to modify and add to codes increases innovation while opponents claim that proprietary software uses superior technology. OSS primarily began as backlash to Microsoft’s proprietary approach to software. Increasing usage and implications of OSS are under debate.
References: http://www.netaction.org/opensrc/future/intro.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software
- Is the open source easier to develop than closed source?
- Who would be responsible for maintenance, quality and reliability control?
- Can software created on open-source OS be copy righted?
- Won’t adoption of open source software stifle innovation of software?
- How does open standards used in MPEG4 and SAP work? Does this mean part of these software is changeable/copyrighted while is part is not?
- Does system thinking work in open source development?
- Security issues in open source