scholarly journals Comparison of technical support for open source software versus proprietary software

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandana Singh
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Technical Support ◽  
Proprietary Software

Open source integrated library systems migration: Librarians share the lessons learnt

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandana Singh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Research Team ◽  
The United States ◽  
Technical Support ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Migration Process ◽  
Lessons Learnt

To better understand how libraries experience the process of migrating to open source software integrated library systems (OSS ILSs), nine librarians from libraries of multiple types and sizes were interviewed. All these libraries are in the United States and these librarians had participated in surveys and interviews about open source software integrated library systems with the research team in past years and at the time of the interview were at different stages of migration to open source software integrated library systems, from contemplating migration to completed migration. The librarians answered questions about their open source software integrated library systems on topics such as the migration process, technical support, adaptation process, and lessons and advice from the overall experience. The in-depth responses provide valuable insights on the process of migration to help libraries understand the challenges and benefits of open source software integrated library systems and are presented in this paper.

scholarly journals Factors influencing the adoption of free and open-source software for electronic records management by municipalities in Gauteng Province, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Mahlatse Shekgola ◽  
Jan Maluleka ◽  
Antonio Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Open Source ◽  
South African ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Electronic Records ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Records Management ◽  
The South ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Electronic Records Management

The South African cabinet adopted policy recommendations from the Government Information Technology Officer's Council pertaining to Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS). Even though the South African Cabinet has shown support for the use of FOSS through the enactment of a policy, the adoption of open source software in electronic records management seems to be slow. Proprietary software continues to be adopted and used by most public institutions, including local and provincial municipalities in South Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate factors that may influence the adoption and use of FOSS for electronic records management by South African municipalities. The study adopted a qualitative research approach to collect data from 10 purposively selected municipalities in Gauteng. Data were analysed and presented thematically to address the research question. The findings of this study suggest that municipalities in Gauteng are not adopting FOSS for electronic records management as expected. This study established that top management support, reliability, affordability of the software, inadequate capability, contracts with proprietary software providers, organisational culture and organisational support are some of the factors that contributed to the low uptake when it comes to the adoption of Free and Open-Source Software by the municipalities.

Open Source Software Adaptation in Africa

2017 ◽  
pp. 1708-1722
Author(s):  
Abubakar Diwani Bakar ◽  
Abu Bakar Md. Sultan ◽  
Hazura Zulzalil ◽  
Jamilah Din
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Global Network ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Software Adaptation ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Wide Availability ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Software Practitioners

The African continent has long benefited from adopting OSS in its private and public organizations that have changed their way of development, the use and how to acquire proprietary software. This frequency of adaptation does not appear to be in balance with the contribution to the OSS community. Using views from experienced software practitioners working in different organizations across two African countries it has been observed that neglected infrastructure, a wide availability of proprietary software and misconceptions of a clear meaning of Open Source Software across Africa have been an obstacle towards the participation in the OSS technology in the global network.

An Open Source Primer

2011 ◽  
pp. 278-298
Author(s):  
Brian Still
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Introductory Overview ◽  
Professional Environment ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
History Of

This chapter serves as an introductory overview of Open Source Software (OSS) and the Open Source movement. It is geared primarily for technical communicators. To provide a thorough overview, this chapter defines OSS, explains how OSS works in comparison to proprietary software, looks at the history of OSS, and examines OSS licensing types, applications in business, and overall strengths and weaknesses when compared to proprietary software. Lastly, it evaluates the practical potential of OSS as well as emerging and future trends relating to it. From this general but thorough overview the intended audience of technical communicators will gain the solid understanding needed to work successfully in an academic or professional environment where OSS continues to grow in popularity, spurring more organizations to rely on it or the Open Source ideas that have inspired and continue to drive its creation and growth.

OpenLaszlo

2011 ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Chris Moya
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
Rich Internet Application ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Web Environment ◽  
Device Applications ◽  
Internet Application ◽  
High Level ◽  
Back Office

Programming a rich Internet application (RIA) in any Web environment is the goal of Laszlo Systems. The open source software, OpenLaszlo Presentation Server, allows a user to run, on any device, applications that blend to perfection a user-centered design. It facilitates development from the basic levels such as creating forms, menus and other components for a website, up to high-level tasks like focusing on the attention of the user, to easily create, for example, an e-commerce website, a full management back office or a trip booking site, all this using animations comparable to those created with proprietary software.

scholarly journals Atvirųjų programų naudojimas mokymui

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (43) ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
Daiva Šiškevičiūtė ◽  
Eugenijus Valavičius
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Business College ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Open Standards

Atvirųjų standartų plitimas kelia naujus reikalavimus informacinių technologijų ir kitų kompiuterinių dalykų dėstytojams. Straipsnyje analizuojamos problemos, iškylančios ruošiantis dėstyti informacinių technologijų kursą, kai kompiuterių taikymo veiksmai iliustruojami atvirosiomis programomis. Taip pat pateikiama studentų pasirengimo priimti tokį kursą analizė – dviejų etapų nuomonės pokyčių tyrimo rezultatai, jų palyginimas su kitais tyrimais, vienų mokslo metų dėstymo patirtis.Teaching of information technology and open source programsDaiva Šiškevičiūtė, Eugenijus Valavičius SummaryThe movement towards open standards on all levels of social life/the life of society puts up new challenges for teachers of Information Technologies and other computer-related disciplines. Vilnius Business College prepared a plan of particular switchover from proprietary software in computer laboratories to open source software. This paper analyses the results of a two-stage survey of students’ opinion about open source software and problems that can occur when using such programs.The changes in students opinion are discussed and results of our surveys are compared with the results of an analogous survey in Lithuanian schools.

scholarly journals USABILITY IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: OPINIONS AND PRACTICE

2006 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Sieker Andreasen ◽  
Henrik Villemann Nielsen ◽  
Simon Ormholt Schrøder ◽  
Jan Stage
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Usability Evaluation ◽  
Software Developers ◽  
Commercial Software ◽  
Proprietary Software

Open Source Software (OSS) development has gained significant importance in the production of soft-ware products. Open Source Software developers have produced systems with a functionality that is competitive with similar proprietary software developed by commercial software organizations. Yet OSS is usually designed for and by power-users, and OSS products have been criticized for having little or no emphasis on usability. We have conducted an empirical study of the developers’ opinions about usability and the way usability engineering is practiced in a variety of OSS projects. The study included a questionnaire survey and a series of interviews, where we interviewed OSS contributors with both technical and usability backgrounds. Overall we found that OSS developers are interested in usability, but in practice it is not top priority, and OSS projects rarely employs systematic usability evaluation. Most of the efforts are based on common sense. Most developers have a very limited understanding of usability, and there is a lack of resources and evaluation methods fitting into the OSS paradigm.

Competition Among Proprietary and Open-Source Software Firms: The Role of Licensing in Strategic Contribution

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence August ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Kevin Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Consumer Surplus ◽  
Development Effort ◽  
Enterprise Software ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
Software Market ◽  
Software Firms

In enterprise software markets, firms are increasingly using services-based business models built on open-source software (OSS) to compete with established, proprietary software firms. Because third-party firms can also strategically contribute to OSS and compete in the services market, the nature of competition between OSS constituents and proprietary software firms can be complex. Moreover, their incentives are likely influenced by the licensing schemes that govern OSS. We study a three-player game and examine how open-source licensing affects competition among an open-source originator, an open-source contributor, and a proprietor competing in an enterprise software market. In this regard, we examine (1) how quality investments and prices are endogenously determined in equilibrium, (2) how license restrictiveness impacts equilibrium investments and the quality of offerings, and (3) how license restrictiveness affects consumer surplus and social welfare. Although some in the open-source community often advocate restrictive licenses such as the GNU General Public License because it is not always in the best interest of the originator for the contributor to invest greater development effort, such licensing can actually be detrimental to both consumer surplus and social welfare when it exacerbates this incentive conflict. We find such an outcome in markets characterized by software providers with similar development capabilities yet cast in favor of the proprietor. In contrast, when these capabilities either become more dispersed or remain similar but tilt in favor of open source, a more restrictive license instead encourages greater effort from the OSS contributor, leads to higher OSS quality, and provides a larger societal benefit. This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.

What's all the FOSS?

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason B. Huett ◽  
Jason H. Sharp ◽  
Kimberly C. Huett
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Proprietary Software ◽  
History Of ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Educational Future

Philosophical, financial, practical, and pedagogical considerations have prompted educators to take a serious look at Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as an alternative to proprietary software. To better understand the overall concept of FOSS, this article provides a brief history of FOSS as well as a summary of its definition, philosophy, and major areas of research, including strengths and limitations, diffusion in education and educational uses as well as a look at the opportunities, issues, and challenges associated with FOSS. In conclusion, the authors speculate how FOSS, along with advances in E-Learning and other emerging technologies, will positively shape our educational future.

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