Search results

The paper has three purposes: the first is to provide a deeper understanding of the ideology and work practices of free and open source software development, the second to characterize the free software movement as a new type of computerization movement and the third to present a conceptual diagram and framework with an analysis showing how the free software computerization movement has evolved into an occupational community.

Qualitative data were collected over a four year period using a virtual ethnography in a study of free and open source software development and, in particular, a study of a free software community, GNUenterprise, located at www.gnuenterprise.org, which has the goal of developing a free enterprise resource planning software system.

It is concluded that the ideology of the free software movement continues to be one of the factors which mobilize people to contribute to free and open source software development. This movement represents a new type of computerization movement which promotes the investment of time in learning a new software development process instead of investment of money in the acquisition and use of new technology.

The research findings are limited by a detailed study of only one free software development project.

This paper is of significance to software developers and managers of firms who wish to incorporate free and open source software into their companies.

This research presents an original conceptual diagram and framework for how computerization movements have emerged into an occupational community.

Computer software does not have to be expensive. Thousands of programs are available free, or for very low prices. There are some catches, but free software can be of high quality, and an excellent value. The author discusses free software, urges readers to join microcomputer user groups, and recounts his own experiences with free software as these relate to Frederick Michels' article on “user‐supported” software (see Library Hi Tech, number 10). The author reviews several books that can provide further information.

This paper seeks to present the results of an analysis of 20 free and open source ILS platforms offered to the library community. These software platforms were subjected to a three‐step analysis, whereby the results aim to assist librarians and decision makers in selecting an open source ILS, based on objective criteria.

The methodology applied involves three broad steps. The first step consists of evaluating all the available ILSs and keeping only those that qualify as truly open source or freely‐licensed software. During this step, the correlation between the practices within the community and the terms associated with the free or open software license was measured. The second step involves evaluating the community behind each open source or free ILS project, according to a set of 40 criteria in order to determine the attractiveness and sustainability of each project. The third step entails subjecting the remaining ILSs to an analysis of almost 800 functions and features to determine which ILSs are most suited to the needs of libraries. The final score is used to identify strengths, weaknesses and differentiating or similar features of each ILS.

More than 20 open source ILSs were submitted to this methodology, but only three passed all the steps: Evergreen, Koha, and PMB. The main goal is not to identify the best open source ILS, but rather to highlight from which, of the batch of dozens of open source ILSs, librarians and decision makers can choose without worrying about how perennial or sustainable each open or free project is, as well as understanding which ILS provides them with the functionalities to meet the needs of their institutions.

This paper offers a basic model so that librarians and decision makers can make their own analysis and adapt it to the needs of their libraries.

This methodology meets the best practices in technology selection, with a multiple criteria decision analysis. It can also be easily adapted to the needs of all libraries.

This study aims to explore the feasible use of free and open source software (FOSS) at a policy level in South Korea, which is reacting against being locked into only one technology company, Microsoft.

Based on participatory democratic theory, this paper suggests that the normative role of the state is as a public mediator in the development of an information technology (IT) infrastructure, encouraging greater freedom of choice and the establishment of an electronic environment – such as the community‐based use of software technology – for citizens to use easily and freely.

South Korean policymakers have explored FOSS as a kind of a political metaphor: at the international level, FOSS offers a rare opportunity to free the country from its technological dependence on transnational software vendors. At the national level, it is an engine for technological innovation and for market competition. However, the market or business paradigm has dominated most discussions of FOSS in Korea. As a result, the economic paradigm of FOSS is vulnerable and could easily surrender to the proprietary logic of the software market.

This study describes how the Korean government must maximize the societal benefits of FOSS within the public sector in order to reduce reliance on proprietary software and open the developmental path to alternative technologies.

An intriguing development in the realm of commercial software has arisen over the last decade, from highly improbable beginnings. From its inception in the ‘hacker ethic’, freeware has had a huge impact on IT businesses around the world, most strongly in the guise of its spin‐off, open source software. The eventual consequences are that, for example, more than 60% of all the servers on the World Wide Web are running the Apache open source system, and Linux, the open source cousin of Unix, is challenging Microsoft’s products as the most popular business server operating system. Major IT users such as multinational banks, and major IT companies including IBM, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, Dell, Oracle, Informix, Intel, Fujitsu, AMD and Computer Associates are investing in and supporting Linux. In 1998, Netscape Communications made public (‘opened’) the source code for its Netscape web browser. In 1999 Apple published the source for the ‘Darwin’ core of its Mac OS X. The Perl freeware programming language continues to gain popularity for web‐based applications.

Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been used worldwide because of the advantages of user control, cost-saving, flexibility, openness, freedom, more security and better stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the status quo of educational application of FOSS and the trends from international perspectives and its implications for higher education in Hong Kong.

The method of cluster analysis was used in this study. The Web of Science database was used as the data source and all relevant literature for the year 2010–2020 on the theme of “FOSS” was collected for analysis. The information visualization software CiteSpace was used for citation visualization analysis, revealing the research results of FOSS worldwide, including hot spots and development trends.

This paper found that FOSS has become an important research area and is playing an important role in the reform and development of education. Meanwhile, the development and application of FOSS have regional imbalances and strong differentiation, including the educational sector. The paper also found that although FOSS has entered the stage of interdisciplinary development, the research and development of FOSS in the field of education is insufficient, which poses a huge challenge to decision-makers, teachers and students.

Implications for higher education in Hong Kong including: attach importance to and vigorously promote FOSS research and practice to benefit more teachers and students; teachers and students need to be trained for acquiring the awareness and skills of FOSS applications and formulate different strategies; the government should provide greater support to formulate and implement a short and middle-term development plan to facilitate the application of FOSS; and Hong Kong higher education institutions may strengthen exchanges and cooperation with counterparts around the world to jointly promote the development of FOSS. It is hoped that the findings will provide a reference for the study and application of FOSS in higher education in Hong Kong.

Free Open Source Softwares (FOSS) witnessed the development of many very good alternatives to proprietary softwares. These free softwares can be localized in several local languages. This paper aims to illustrate a very interesting empirical investigation on FOSS. Several significant benefits of localization are described in introduction and subsequent sections.

Although the localization process is standard and well documented for most of the FOSS, it is a more complex task as it involves coordination among developers, linguists and domain experts. Hence, a very few open source softwares are successfully localized in Indian languages. In this paper, the authors present an approach that they have used for GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) software Marathikaran (localization in Marathi language) project of by Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha of Maharashtra Government (RMVS), India.

This localization project has been described by RMVS as a pilot project that would guide such similar localizations in many other Indian languages for other popular open source softwares.

The localization work overcomes the general misconception that regional languages are good only for communication (Boli Bhasha) but cannot be used for dissemination of knowledge (Gyan Bhasha). This work is notably contributing to language preservation, language revitalization and Digital India Initiative.

This work is the pioneering work in this domain for Marathi language with respect to GIMP. The authors presented systematic steps used to localize the GIMP software in Marathi language (from 2% to 100%).

According to its supporters open source software is more secure and reliable than proprietary code, and even tends to foster more innovation. Its technical superiority can be linked to the ongoing peer review process which typifies the open source model. In addition, programs such as Linux offer a potential challenge to the hegemony of Microsoft. Open source holds out the possibility of restraining platform leaders such as Microsoft from acting opportunistically. Some even argue that the open source code model is ethically superior to the proprietary model because of its transparency. Given these economic and social benefits, should government policy makers intervene, by tilting the playing field to open source programs? Would such government intervention truly be welfare‐enhancing? Before answering that question we note that some of the presumed technical and economic benefits of open source software are open to question. At the same time, the claims of moral superiority or social desirability are inflated and discount incentives necessary for software development. But even if this software were technically and morally superior, there is still no basis for government intervention. Our position is simple: the invisible hand of the market and not the visible hand of government should decide the fate of open source code. There is no identifiable market failure for the government to fix nor is there any plausible policy justification for giving open source software preferential treatment.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of free and open source (FOSS) geographic information system (GIS) software within the broader contexts of the open source software movement and developments in GIS, and pose the question of whether libraries and academic departments should consider adopting FOSS GIS.

The process of creating a basic thematic map was used to test six FOSS GIS software packages, as it is a multi‐step process and a good example of a common task GIS users would want to perform. The test demonstrates what the process of creating a thematic map using FOSS GIS involves and how it compares to proprietary software like ArcGIS.

Each of the individual FOSS GIS packages had their own particular strengths and weaknesses and some performed well for thematic mapping. The FOSS packages generally were weaker compared to ArcGIS in terms of support for various projection and coordinate systems, joining attribute data to GIS files, and automatic labeling, but their advantage is that they were free in terms of cost and licensing restrictions. When coupled with plug‐ins and helper applications the viability of the FOSS GIS packages increased.

There is little published research to date on the capabilities and applications of FOSS GIS despite the fact that it is a growing movement. This research provides a practical, application‐based overview and critique of FOSS GIS.

Looks at how software has attained incredible economic power, but recommends now is the time to break out from the current hold its creators have on the general public. Gives recommendations about “free” software (which means nothing to do with price – mostly freedom of usage), which is an “open source”. Concludes by looking at US and European information hegemony.