Open source software is the alternative and biggest challenger to closed source or proprietary software. It generally costs the user nothing, can be distributed freely to anyone and exists as a result of the combined efforts of computer programmers, users and software vendors from around the world that share their intellectual property freely, believe software should cost nothing and should enrich the lives of the users.
"Contrary to popular belief, open source software is not only the domain of technically and highly skilled users, since it makes a difference in the lives of everyday people from all walks of life," says Mark Shuttleworth, South African Internet Billionaire and investor in Go Open Source.
"Another myth is that open source software is niche in its focus. Open source applications cover the entire spectrum of computer use, consisting of operating systems, productivity suites, web browsers, e-mail clients, Internet tools and multimedia applications,"
Shuttleworth continues. "Go_Open will aim to blow these myths out of the water once and for all, using real world examples that could not have happened in any other way than through the use of open source."
"Go_Open's content will consist of everything from news and views, to competitions and user training on using and getting the most out of open source software," Shuttleworth says. "An important aspect of the show will be the inclusion of human interest stories, profiling the open source leaders' views on the state of the software market and where open source software is being used with success."
Go_Open also provides a very important forum for Go Open Source to raise awareness, the skills level and enthusiasm for Linux, the definitive open source operating system and flagship of the open source movement worldwide. "Go_Open provides us with a vital channel to begin raising awareness in the local market for this awesome operating system and a medium through which we can train users to become proficient on Linux, with virtually no previous experience," Shuttleworth says.
"Everything we do on the show will also tie back to the Go Open Source website (www.go-opensource.org), where more in-depth training and informational content will be available," he says.
Go Open Source's plans for Go_Open go beyond simply raising awareness in South Africa however. "We have plans to syndicate the programme to as many sources as possible. In the spirit of open source, the wider the open source message goes, the closer we will be to educating the market about the alternatives, the cost savings, and equipping people to make an empowered decision on what software they will use," Shuttleworth concludes.
Go Open Source is a partnership between Canonical, the CSIR, the Shuttleworth Foundation, and HP, which aims to promote the awareness and use of open source software to South African organisations and the general public.
The Go Open Source founders contributed a total of R18 million to be used over a two year period from May 2004. The projects launched to date included an extensive marketing and publicity campaign, the supply of totally free open source CD's to anyone who requests one, the Freedom League of Geeks who canvas the country assisting new-comers, and an open source specific 13 episode television show which runs on SABC2 from the 20th November 2004.
Open source software is developed by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world who use the Internet as a base for sharing ideas, methods, and software source code. Thousands of open source software programs are freely available for download off the Internet, but it is not just the free price tag that makes open source so powerful.
The freedoms of open source software apply to everyone, and include the freedom to use, the freedom to change the source code and enhance the software, and the freedom to distribute. Open source is a revolutionary way for the world to develop and use software and is challenging the common proprietary method where users pay a license fee to a company and are legally prevented from copying, changing, or distributing the software.
