- Necessary fixing or improvement of code - if something is not quite right, it needs to be fixed. For example, Firefox was developed as an alternative to Internet Explorer and all its 'bugs'.
- Developing and showcasing skills - sometimes we just want people to praise our competence and skills.
- Contributing to the greater good of the community - software is refined and improved for the benefit not just to the individual, but for the whole community
- Scratching an itch - entertainment, learning and interest are primary motivators in encouraging development of open source software.
I think the last point about scratching an itch is particularly relevant. The idea was originally explored by Eric S. Raymond in his essay The Cathedral and The Bazaar, in which he says "every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch". But does open source actually work and is it a threat to closed source software programs?
The concept of open source development is "the rapid creation of solutions within an open, collaborative environment" (Sourceforge, 2008). So even if open source development begins with a single developer wanting to scratch their itch, as more people participate and collaborate, more people scratch their own itches as well as others' itches.
Although the theory of developing open source software may seem like a nightmare - tens, hundreds or even thousands of individuals changing and re-entering code whenever and wherever - it has been proven to work so long as there is someone in charge. If we look at the computer operating system Linux we see that although many developers worked on the software, Linus Torvalds oversaw the entire project and co-ordinated the various different aspects.
That is what makes open source so interesting - it really should not run so smoothly but it does. And not only does it run smoothly, in many ways open source software is actually better than 'closed' source software.
Open source can constantly be changed, developed, fixed and improved far faster than closed source, while the collaboration "promotes a higher standard of quality, and helps to ensure the long-term viability of both data and applications." (Sourceforge, 2008) And it's often free.
Or as stated in Linus' Law of Software Engineering "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow" (Raymond, 1999), meaning with enough people collaborating on a project all potential bugs and glitches will be identified and fixed before the product is distributed.
And it is not just software developers, those 'in the know' or even home computer users who are taking advantage of open source software - federal agencies in France, Germany, China and the United States now use Linux for servers, considering Linux "more stable and less susceptible to viruses and hacker attacks" (Wired, 2003).
While other countries are also adopting alternate open source operating systems, Brazil is leading the way in South America, adopting the Linux software system in their government departments as a cost-cutting measure.
In 2005, the Brazilian government was paying Microsoft fees of around 1200 Brazilian reas (US$500) for every computer and estimated it could save $120 million dollars a year simply by switching to open source software (Kingstone, 2005).
Considering Microsoft earned "between 6 percent and 10 percent of its $318 million in revenues from the government" (Wired, 2003) in the fiscal year ending in June 2003, the switch to open source software will definitely sting.
So what is Microsoft doing to try to put a stop to the Linux switch?
So far they have released several statements questioning the reliability of open source software operating systems (particularly Linux) while at the same time saying every government had the right to choose which operating system they preferred to use.
In 2005 Microsoft also launched a stripped-down cheaper version of Windows XP in Brazil (Kingstone, 2005) aimed at attracting (or re-attracting) customers, but in a country where roughly 20% of the 191 million population own a computer this is unlikely to make a huge impact.
Besides, Microsoft has to compete with a Brazilian government intent on not having to pay licensing fees to Microsoft and spreading the message. At the Telecentro free computer centres, where Brazilians who cannot afford to buy a computer can come and learn to surf the Web, are learning using free, open source software such as Linux (Wired, 2003). This is coupled with the Brazilian government's scheme to sell heavily discounted computers to low-income Brazilians buying their first computer (Benson, 2005). What makes it possible? Free, open source software.
In the light of the support the movement towards open source software is receiving from everyday Brazilians as well as the government, Microsoft's market stranglehold may be beginning to loosen. In Brazil at least.
References
Benson, T (2005, March 29) Brazil: Free Software's Biggest and Best Friend. The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April, 2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/technology/29computer.html
Kingstone, S. (2005, June 2) Brazil Adopts Open-Source Software. BBC News. Retrieved 12 April, 2008 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4602325.stm
Raymond, E.S (1999) The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Retrieved 11 April, 2008 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue3_3/raymond/
Sourceforge (2008) What is Sourceforge.net? Retrieved 13 April, 2008 from http://alexandria.wiki.sourceforge.net/What+is+SourceForge.net?
Wired (2003) Brazil Gives Nod to Open Source . Retrieved 13 April, 2008 from http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2003/11/61257
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