Adam Wilcox; tea drinking Brit with fondness for the media and tech.
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Open Source Revolution 22 January 2007

I use Firefox, (sometimes Safari), every single day, I find it rock solid, a pleasure to use, and makes me feel safe out there on the big bad Internet.

The fact that it is “free” is also a major factor, and I would imagine it is for most people, which is why I am always amazed that The Omni Group sell a program called OmniWeb for $14.95, (about £8). OmniWeb is a web browser for the Mac, and is one of the last you have to buy, (Opera went free back in September 2005). As far as I can see, OmniWeb offers nothing, that Firefox can’t do. Even Internet Explorer is getting there… bless.

The point is that the Mozilla Foundation has revolutionised the idea of paying for software. I would never pay for a browser, or email client, (Thunderbird). I can’t see Britannica’s sales improving, since Wikipedia continues to grow and develop. The quality of open source software has greatly improved over the past few years, with some areas actually going beyond what you can buy. This blog runs of open source software, (Wordpress written in PHP, powered by Apache on a Linux server. That’s all open source stuff, run by my hosts, OpenSourceHost).

There are simply thousands of open-source projects turning the previously Proprietary world of software into a huge open playground. The are open source Office alternatives, GPS Systems, computer games, PhotoShop alternatives, media players, Bit-Torrent managers, Instant Messaging protocols, even films.

“Over the course of the decade the open-source realm has become an incubator for innovative business models. Venture capital money will continue to fuel developments.”
Robert Mullins, InfoWorld

2007 truly is set to be yet another year where open-source pushes further against established players like Microsoft and Adobe. Admission time though, I don’t practice what I preach all the time. I am still not taken with open-source operating systems, I have fallen in love with OS X, and I can’t see Ubuntu enticing me too easily.

But next time you are wandering round PC World looking for software, and suffer a myocardial infarction at the eye watering prices- remember to Google, check SourceForge, or just ask around first. Supporting Open-Source will not stop Microsoft or Apple and other property software makers from operating, it simply forces them to respond to the challenge and improve their own software, patch security holes quicker, and produce better and more diverse products that can only be a benefit to us: the cheapskate consumers.