Open Source vs Proprietary Software

If a piece of software is considered to be “open source”, it means that anyone has access to the actual code and can change it for their purposes. In general, the software is free to use, but a price may be paid for support. Linux is one of the most common examples of open source software. Proprietary software is software like Microsoft Windows or your favorite computer game where you are only provided with the executable binary and have no access to the code.

One of the main benefits of open source software is that it is free. There are other benefits as well, along with drawbacks. Your job is to find 3 credible articles on the advantages and disadvantages of open source software vs. proprietary software. Pros and cons of both must be represented across the three articles. If you have discussed media literacy, you will recall that credible articles have the following properties:

  1. The author is well known or his/her credentials are strong and easy to find, or the organization represented on the webpage is known and reputable.

  2. The purpose of the article is mainly information, not to sell a product or push an opinion – some credible articles may be mostly one-sided but acknowledge another side and are not intended to be the sole article used

  3. The timeliness of the article is appropriate to the discipline (a literature or history article that is dated may be fine, but a computer science or political science article that addresses current technology or the current state of the political climate should not be).

  4. The article/post itself references credible authors using same criteria presented above.

Another important consideration

  1. The article or post is one of several diverse articles or posts that you use to gather information.

List each article found below. Use at least three criteria from the list above that are true about the article to support its credibility. List the pros and cons that the article reveals about open source software. This completed document should be uploaded prior to the next class meeting and should include at least 5 different pros and 5 different cons across the articles (not each).

For each article provide the following information