Open Source, the GPL, and why it's important to you

by Bill Turner, 12 November, 2001

There are many people that are confused about Open Source and the GPL (General Public License) from the FSF (Free Software Foundation). I'd like to try and clear up some of that confusion, and clarify why these concepts are important to you. Whether you are the CIO of some major corporation, or simply Joe User wanting to use your PC at home to access the Internet and send email.

Why should you care?

Open Source, first and foremost, means Freedom. In many ways. Not just free as in free beer, but free as in freedom of choice. Open Source in a nutshell, means that any program, whether it be the lowliest utility, or an operating system (like Linux), will have included as part of the package, the source code.

Why should you care about this? What possible use is it to have the source code for a program if you're not a programmer, and wouldn't know a line of C if it came up and bit you?

Because if you have the source code, whether you are a programmer or not, you have the ability to make changes to the program, or have others make the changes for you. To correct a bug, or to customise the software to your needs, like a tailored suit instead of something off the rack.

Be in control

This provides you with an incredible amount of security. (And not just in the software sense.) How? Because you no longer are at the mercy of a vendor of proprietary software. No longer have you to wait for that vendor to make the necessary bug fixes. If they decide to at all. No longer have you to worry about that vendor discontinuing support for your program, because even if they do, you (and others) have the source code.

You are now in control of your own destiny. How important is that? Let me put it another way. Let's say you run a small manufacturing firm. You probably do your best to have more than one supplier for the raw materials you need to make your product. As well as more than one way to ship your product out the factory door to your customers. That way, you can pick and choose the right supplier, or the right shipping method, based on things that make sense to you, as the owner of that business.

Now, if you do that in every other aspect of your business, investigating to find the right mix of service, availability, and price, to meet your needs and maximise profits, then why should your IT Department be treated any differently? Why should you depend upon a sole source for your server and workstation operating system?

If looked at, coldly and rationaly, it really doesn't make much sense does it?

Who do I turn to for support?

The knock against Open Source software, in general terms, has been a lack of support. I can understand that you would want to have support in the server and workstation operating system, and in the applications software you choose to run your buiness with. Just good business sense to have someone that is going to be accountable, and will be there when you need them.

After the Microsoft announcement of discontinuing support for many of their older product lines, Windows NT, and Windows 9x, can you still feel completely comfortable with a Microsoft product now? You have already paid God alone knows how much, to ensure your company is in compliance with the Microsoft Licensing Agreement. Part of that agreement, from your perspective, included support from the vendor. Now you find that they weren't worth the paper they were printed on.

So what about Linux support? Most major Linux vendors provide support in varying levels. Everything from web-based forums and email support to 24/7 telephone support. If you prefer there are a number of companies already, and more daily it seems, that will provide training and support functions for your organization.

Open your mind to Open Source

What can you do? Plenty.

First of all, you need to open your mind to Open Source. Because Open Source can, and will, be an excellent long term solution for you. Open Source means among other things, that you no longer have to rely on a single vendor for your server and workstation operating system, and applications software.

No one person, or organization, controls Open Source. Linux, as the initial creator, Linus Torvalds has said repeatedly, is not under his control and never was, because of the way it is copyrighted. The GPL.

The GPL says, in a nutshell, that you are encouraged to distribute the program (whether it be Linux, another operating system, or a simple utility), to as many as you wish. You can make changes to the program, to fix a bug, or to customize something to fit your particular needs.

It is, in every sense of the word, a real copyright and the only requirement really is that if you do make changes, you are required to submit those changes under the GPL, to the community at large so that other people can benefit from your changes or improvements.

You can, if you wish, buy a single copy of a Linux distribution, containing the Linux operating system as well as several CDs worth of applications programs, and install them on as many computers as you wish. There are going to be individual differences, commercial software that has been included, that have different licensing requirements, but in general that's how it works. (Software that isn't GPL'd is usually found on the supplementary CDs, and not the installations CDs, to help keep licensing worries at bay.)

Support, the source code, and the GPL can combine to make a powerful economic impact on your organization, and it's bottom line profitability. Just ask Amazon. They saved $17 million in one quarter alone, just by switching to Linux.

How much can your company save?

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