Running head: ENTERING THE DISCOURSE 1

Entering the Discourse

Lorenzo Ramirez
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to present to you two sides of an argument that has been going
on for some time now in the software world. The debate between open source software (OSS)
and closed source software, also known as proprietary software. I will presents both sides of the
argument and what many experts in the software world think of this debate that has gone on
since it first started back in the early 600s. In the end of this paper I will present my argument
for my support for the closed source community.


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Origins
Now to begin a little background is needed to present to you, that way you have an
understanding of what this whole debate is between the open and closed source software
communities is. Open source software (OSS) is according to GNU (2014), (is pronounced gnoo
as one syllable, like saying "grew" but replacing the r with n), Free software is a matter of the
users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. (What is Free
Software, para 2) In other words open source software is free to anyone that wants to download
it, there is no cost to get it and once you do have it you can also modify it to fit your needs. The
open source movement began sometime back in the early 1960s and 70s. In the book Standards
Battles in Open Source Software the authors describe the beginnings of open source, (H. de
Vries, I. Oshri, & H. de Vries, 2008),
The roots of open source software (OSS) go back to the practices of scientific research
organizations of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Bell Labs, Xerox Park and the University of
California at Berkley, where this type of voluntary code sharing was quite common (Raymond,
1999).
A lot of their motivation was also to write programs to fit their needs. A lot of the commercial
software that was out at that time was still in its infancy and you could not customize it to the
way you wanted it to work, the source code, the million lines of code that make the program
work, was not available to people who wanted to improve it. This software was usually protected
by copyrights, licenses, patents.etc. So you had people like Linus Torvalds, the man who
created the Linux kernel, which is the free operating system we know today as Linux operating
system, created his own software and shared it with his peers. Which to many is probably the
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only considerable threat to the Microsoft Windows empire. Linux is a free operating system that
you can download off the internet, its like Windows but its free and a lot more stable and
secure than Windows. A lot of the programs we use today come from the open source
community like Mozilla Firefox browser, OpenOffice, the open source communities answer to
Microsoft Word, Thunderbird which is am email client like Outlook, and of course it is all free.
Closed source software or proprietary software is the opposite. Closed source software
according to website Bwired (2014) Closed source software can be defined as proprietary
software distributed under a licensing agreement to authorized users with private modification,
copying and republishing restrictions. (Open Source vs. Closed Source Software, para. 12) In
other words its software that you usually buy at a store like Windows.
Open source vs. Closed Source
We will look at both arguments and compare the two. Now the main argument from the
open source community is that open source software (OSS) is the future for the software world.
OSS will benefit everyone from the student using his laptop computer in college to the major
business of the world. Open source claims that OSS can be customized, modified to make your
own software, its more reliable, no vendor lock-in, and the availability of the support is
excellent. For the closed source community they argue that if you go with OSS then you lose a
lot of the benefits that come with proprietary software, such as easier to use, offers better
support, works better with your hardware, and you get warranties that back up the product for
any defects. And for a lot of big businesses that are thinking of integrating into the OSS realm
these are important things that need to be looked at if they want to succeed. Lets take a look at
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the open source community argument, even now some big businesses are using or integrating to
the open source community. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, King (2012)
The use of open-source software is becoming more prevalent at big companies for reasons
including ease of innovation and cutting the time to get products to market. Companies such
as Sears Holding Corp. Chevron Corp. MasterCard Inc. are using open source software. (Big
Companies Open up to Open-Source Software. para 1, 5).
One of the reasons why companies are using open source is that they can customize their
own software and they have control over it, which is one of the benefits of using open source.
Some of the other benefits would be the cost of open source software, which is a lot less that
proprietary. Proponents of the open source community say that open source is free, now some
would argue that it still costs to implement OSS, but the free part is more applied to the idea of
being free from restrictions and copyrights, than looking at it from a dollar value. Proponents of
the closed source community would beg to differ with those points. First of all they argue that
being able to customize your own software would be nice if you had skilled programmers to do
it. A lot of companies and individuals are not skilled in programming or dont have programmers
that can code for them and many of them do not want to take the time to go through thousands of
line of code to customize the program. According to article on the ComputerWorld website,
Rubens (2014)
While Linux very well may be technically superior to these proprietary operating systems, its
weaknesses mean that most users will find it more difficult and less appealing to work with. That
means lower productivity, which will likely cost far more than purchasing a proprietary
operating system with which your staff is familiar. (7 Reasons Not to Use Open Source
Software, para. 6)
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The cost also of implementing OSS is not actually free, you would need to train, update
the software and provide in house support which will cost a lot if you dont have people who
know how to work with OSS. But the OSS community still argues that if a business has skilled
personnel that can maintain, train and provide in house support, than overall your cost can still be
lower than subscribing to a major company lets say like Microsoft support which can charge
thousands. Another argument from both sides is the support and reliability of the both types of
software. For the open source community they claim that support for many of the open source
projects rival that of the closed source community. For example whenever an OSS project is
distributed for use it can be modified or improved if someone finds a flaw, so then you have a
whole community of programmers constantly trying to improve software by looking for defects
or asking the questions how can I make this work better? then they send out updates so that the
rest of the community can update their systems, and the turnaround time is usually pretty fast.
Closed source proponents will argue that even though the OSS community has people working to
improve their software constantly there are drawbacks to that. For one a lot of the project leaders
in OSS community often abandon their projects to start new ones so a lot of the times you have
projects that are incomplete or never updated, so flaws that are found sometimes never get fixed.
Now with proprietary software an individual, even though they have paid for their software, they
get the support whenever they need it. You have companies that offer 24 hr. support, you
warranties that come with your software. As the website bwired points out in an article they
presented, Saltis (2011),
Service and support is probably the greatest advantage of using proprietary software and is also
an area of competition among proprietary software providers. Ongoing support is a key selling
point for users with little technical skills and one of the main reasons people choose closed
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source over open source software. Support includes user manuals and point(s) of contact for
immediate assistance from viable companies with experts who are intimately familiar with the
products and services. (Open Source vs. Closed Source Software, para. 14)
Even though the average person might not have access to the source code, many of us
would rather just go buy the software at the store and pay the extra to have an experienced
person deal with the problems. Another good point about closed source software is that when the
software is being developed its being developed in a controlled environment and not someones
basement.
Conclusion
The argument between open source software (OSS) and closed source software also
known as proprietary software, I believe is an argument that can go both ways. They both have
their pros and cons. In my opinion when choosing one over the other it really depends on what
your needs are. For example to the everyday user, someone who really isnt computer literate
and doesnt know much about programming would be better off going with proprietary software.
Even though sometimes it can be expensive, you still have that support and security that comes
along with a software program, its developed in a controlled environment, tested, comes with
support documentation (manual) and has the support you need from experts, dedicated 800
numbers, who know their product when a problem arises. Yes sometimes you may have to pay
hundreds of dollars for a product like a Windows operating system, but for some in the long run
at least they know they have that support.
On the other hand with OSS you dont have to pay that high price for software. In my
opinion the OSS is really for those people that are into technology, those geeky type of people,
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like myself, who enjoy the technical aspect of the software world. If you know how to program,
tweak your computer, then open source if for you. Why spend the hundreds of dollars on
something you can develop yourself for free, and then distribute it to your peers so they can use
it and maybe add to it to make it better. For myself I lean more towards open source software
only because I enjoy customizing my computer and I do know a little programming, enough to
work with OSS systems and understand them. I have worked with OSS in the past and it is a bit
trickier to work with than Windows and can be frustrating when youre trying to do something
simple like copy a file or install a new program. And if I do have a problem I can just go to one
of the open source community websites and ask for help. Bottom line while doing my research I
found that the argument between the two types of software really isnt an argument between
which is better but more of what your needs are and what your preferences are. They both are
beneficial in certain environments.

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References
Free Software Foundation (2014, April 04). GNU Operating System Retrieved from
http://www.gnu.org/
H. de Vries, I. Oshri, H. de Vries, (2008) Standards Battles in Open Source Software
New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan
Saltis, S. (2011) Open Source vs. Closed Source Software. Retrieved from
www.bwired.com.au/blogs/digital-web-strategy/open-source-vs-closed-source-
software
King, R. (2012, September 6) Big Companies Open Up to Open Source Software. The
Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20000872396390443589304577633733725243996

Rubens, P. (2014, February 11) 7 Reasons Not to Use Open Source Software.
ComputerWorld. Retrieved from
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246218/7_Reasons_Not_to_Use_Open_Source
_Software