Software for computers, cell phones and various other gadgets has been changing and benefiting the consumer for sometime, now even more than before. With open source being more readily available for free, many consumers unaware pay for software when similar software can be downloaded for free thanks to the world of open source.
When comparing open source software to software for profit, there are numerous factors to consider. The largest example of free software under open source development is the Linux operating system which is an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows Vista. If you get it installed on laptops, you would save a lot of money off the price.
The benefit is that you could change the underlying code in Linux if you wanted to and even if you didn’t, you have that option available. Of course there are advantages to buying Windows Vista but is it worth the price comparing to versions of Linux available today.
Another example of a great open source software is Open Office, which is free to download and very comparable to other major Office suites. Open Office is packed with features like databases, presentations, graphics, word processing and spreadsheets. And you can read and write files from some of the main office software packages.
The cell phone world has also been taken by storm since the Apple Iphone first hit the market which is mainly due to the device’s expandability that has only improved with the Iphone 3G. The Open Handset Alliance, a group of 47 mobile and tech companies, is now a direct competitor since they developed a free, open and complete mobile environment in the form of Google Android.
Open source will continue to grow as more devices become available just like Linux. Consumers will want more open source software to take advantage of the savings it brings.
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