No XP for me
Jon Titus, Editorial Director -- Test & Measurement World, 6/1/2001
Most of us buy "closed source" software. We can examine the underlying assembly language in programs such as Excel, Visual Basic, and TurboTax, but we can't get our hands on the source code. Companies guard that code as if it were gold. After all, they have invested a lot of money in software developments, so why should they reveal their precious code? And how can they make money from "open" software?
The other side of the software coin goes by the term "open source," which defines more of a movement than just open-source code. In the open-source world, programmers supply their code for everyone to use, copy, and improve-at no cost. The only catch is that programmers must make all derivative code available for free, too.
That altruistic spirit has made Linux, and other open-source software, very popular. Anyone can enhance or upgrade Linux, but they can't sell the resulting code. Instead, they license it using what's called the GNU General Public License, or a "copyleft," as opposed to a copyright. You can find the GPL at www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.txt.
Imagine what would happen if you could get Microsoft Word under a GPL. By now, someone would have made it backward compatible with more word processors, and hackers would have simplified the toolbars. But don't hold your breath waiting for open-source code from Microsoft. Sun Microsystems, however, has released its Open Office suite of desktop tools using a GPL. The Open Office Web site (www.openoffice.org) provides documentation, bug reports, and downloads. If you want to improve Open Office, go ahead.
Although no one can charge for software licensed under the GPL, companies can distribute open-source programs. They charge for documentation, round-the-clock support, maintenance, training, and other services. If you don't want those services, you can get Linux for under $30. Some of the companies that provide Linux distributions have had a hard time, but that reflects competition and the business climate more than anything else.
Some pundits say Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP and its family of applications will destroy the open-source movement and make it a footnote in computer history. Don't bet on it. Microsoft wants to use XP to reassert its control over your PC, complicate audio recording and playing, and make you buy software subscriptions. Count on added layers of complexity, lots more memory, and bigger disks. And count me out. Windows XP may be the push I need to completely embrace the open-source movement. Microsoft's headed backward. When XP arrives, I hope to be on the Linux bandwagon. T&MW
