| What is Open Source? |
| Written by Cale D. Hollingsworth | |
| Wednesday, 21 September 2005 | |
|
While we don't hear this question nearly as much today as we did in the
mid-1990's, many people still don't fully understand what Open Source
is or how it works. During the mid-1990's, only the deepest and darkest "geeks" had heard of, or even used, Linux. Around this time, only Sun (Solaris), HP-UX, AIX and other expensive variants of Unix were available, usually only to large enterprises. When my first company adopted a "sand box" of Linux servers in early 1994, we were instantly hooked. Apache, PHP, MySQL and many other important tools were all borne of the Open Source concept, and Linux lead the way. Certainly, we work in an industry that encourages early adopters. However, in the past 10 years, Open Source has matured into a platform that no longer needs defended as only the domain of bleeding edge types. Our friends at OnLamp have a good piece defining exactly what Open Source is, and how it compares to other software models. Check it out! |