{"id":38353,"date":"2016-11-14T13:37:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T19:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenscourses.com\/tc1019fall2016\/?guid=610ee2f19be4bd4ac438776fb19ea1e0"},"modified":"2016-11-14T13:37:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T19:37:05","slug":"its-source-its-open-247","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenscourses.com\/tc1019fall2016\/syndicated\/its-source-its-open-247\/","title":{"rendered":"Its source, it’s open! 24\/7"},"content":{"rendered":"
What is open source, really? You might have heard it once or twice, but trust me: you\u2019ve used open source software before (or at least I hope so). Let me dig a little deeper into this\u2026<\/span><\/div>

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\u201cOpen source\u201d means something that is modifiable by the people, something they can share with one another because its source design is publicly available. Doesn\u2019t this sound awesome? It sure does for me. This whole term was born out of needs for software development, as an approach to creating computer programs. However, today we call projects done \u201cthe open source way\u201d those that satisfy all following characteristics:<\/span><\/div>
  • collaborative participation<\/span><\/div><\/li>
  • rapid prototyping<\/span><\/div><\/li>
  • transparency<\/span><\/div><\/li>
  • meritocracy<\/span><\/div><\/li>
  • community-oriented development<\/span><\/div><\/li><\/ul>

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    The SOURCE term we\u2019ve been using refers to the part of the software that most users don\u2019t see. It\u2019s what a programmer can manipulate to make tangible changes on how a software works. This makes it possible to add new features or fix something! Who could be better testers, than your everyday users?<\/span><\/div>

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    So, what do I call all the other software I\u2019ve been using my whole life? Most certainly, you should be calling it \u201cproprietary\u201d, or \u201cclosed\u201d software. With these types of software, only their authors can legally copy, inspect and alter it. You know all those terms and conditions you\u2019ve agreed before? Those enormous texts you surely haven\u2019t read\u2026 Well, that\u2019s what you have to do when you use proprietary software; you agree to not doing anythings with the software that isn\u2019t expressly permitted by their authors. You don\u2019t need to go too far, do you recognize anny of these logos?<\/span><\/div>
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    Yeah\u2026 Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop are just perfect examples of proprietary software!<\/span><\/div>

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    Are you wishing there existed some open source version of these types of software? Well wish no mre! Here\u2019s one I found: LibreOffice <\/span><\/div>