“Is this your idea of software nirvana: an application that
is reliable, robust, relatively easy to customize, able to run on
any computer platform, and free, to top it all off? If so, you
don’t have to wait until you get to heaven to experience this kind
of software. You just have to use Linux….”
“What accounts for Linux’s sudden popularity? Mainly two
factors: its non-proprietary nature plus the growth of Internet use
and e-commerce, for which Linux is particularly
well-suited….”
“Furthermore, no one owns or can patent open-source software. It
is totally collaborative – all open-source software must be
distributed with the source code. As a result, anyone with the
inclination and the skill can fiddle around with even the
application’s most crucial parts. Thus, a business can start with a
basic application and then completely customize the software to fit
its own needs. A user of proprietary software, however, has to work
with the application as purchased.”