SCL 2

SCL 2 : COMPUTER SOFTWARE

1.       What is open source software?

In your opinion, why people prefer open source software over proprietary alternatives nowadays?

Name top (fives) 5 most popular open source software and compare them with similar proprietary software(e.g. Open Office versus Microsoft Office).

In general, the term open source itself refers to something that can be easily modified, as its design is publicly accessible. While, open source software is a software whose source code is available for modification or enhancement by anyone. Open source software also can be said as the source code itself, which  instruct the applications to do what it does, which also can be easily viewed, modified or downloaded by anyone with technical expertise.

What is source code?

Source code is the part of software that most of computers user don’t ever see. It is the code for computer programmers which can use to change how a piece of software works.

Proprietary software is the computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder with the intent that the license is given the right to use the software only under certain conditions, and restricted from other uses, such as modification, sharing, studying, redistribution, or reverse engineering. Usually the source code of proprietary software is not made available.

In our opinion, people prefer open source software more over proprietary software based on the following comparison:

Open source software	Proprietary software
Typically developed, marketed and distributed by a loosely organized community of individuals.	Software provided by a vendor. (they’re distributed by a vendor organization)
It is free	Paid software (usually expensive)
Source code is free-you can see the code and understand how it works by yourself	The software usually requires a license fee.
It is free to modify the software however you like, and to release those modifications.	The software cannot be modified as you have to contact the inventor (or a distributor approved by them) for the right to use the software package
Support by community of users and developers	Support provided by the vendor at a cost.
Free, anyone can modify  (source code)	Only organization/creator can modify(source code)

Most popular open source software versus most popular proprietary software:

1. Libre office 4.1 vs Microsoft Office 2013

Major feature differences	Libre office 4.1	Microsoft Office 2013
Open source	Yes	No, it is proprietary and closed source
Cost	It is free of charge	No, proprietary programme plus additional charges for language packs. 30-days trial version available.
Changing language of the user interface on fly	Supported	Supported but requires additional purchase of language packs
Additional writing aids	Extended support such as:            Spell check dictionaries  Hyphenation patterns Thesaurus and grammar check Specialized dictionaries	Limited, it requires additional purchase of language packs
Accessibility	It is easy to access the features	It has a limited accessibility on certain features  Additional charge on some feature
Supporter	It is support by community users	It is support by vendor at cost

                                                                                                                                                                                   

2. Winamp vs Nero Smart Time

Major feature differences	Winamp	Nero Smart Time
Open source	It is an open source software	No, it is proprietary and closed-source programme
Cost	It is free	It has additional charges once you update it
Accessibility	It is limited software ·         Its only for playing music/video ·         It can’t perform burning movies features	It is accessible ·         Its can play music/video(a myriad of formats are supported) ·         Its can perform burning movies features ·         You can rip CD into mp3 ·         Allows the user to record from TV( PVR) ·         User able to share video and music on the Web as well as stream TV programmes
Supporter	Support by community users	Support by vendor but at cost

3. Avira Antivirus vs MC Afee Proven Security

Major feature differences	Avira Antivirus	MC Afee Proven Security
Open source	It is an open source software	It is a proprietary or closed source software
Cost	It is free	It has additional charge in updating the software
Accessibility	It is user-friendly ·         As you will be given options on access internet instead being pointed to internal web page that ask you to download update(if you it is not up to date)	It quite of troublesome ·         As you will be pointed to the internal web page where you have to download update instead(it will be additional charge for it)
Supporter	It is support by community users	It is supported by vendor at cost

4. Photoscape vs Adobe photoshop

Major feature differences	Photoscape	Adobe photoshop
Open source	An open source software	A proprietary or closed source software
Cost	It is free	Additional charge might be added
Accessibility	A user-friendly software: ·         It provide simple interface ·         Language packages available for download without additional cost	It is
Supporter	It is support by community users	It is support by vendor at cost

5. 4shared downloader vs iTunes

Major feature differences	4shared downloader	iTunes
Open source	An open source software	A proprietary or closed source software
Cost	It is free	Additional charge might be added
Accessibility	It is user friendly ·         All users can used it ·         There is not a must you have to sign up to download it(you can download it through your Facebook or Twitter)	It is quite complicated ·         Only some users can use it ( Apple users, Android users and etc.) ·         Some iTunes Eligible Content may be large, and significant data charges may result from delivery of such content over data connection ·         You need to have an Apple ID in order to download software
Supporter	Support by community users	Support by vendor at cost

Credit to : Elia Ambrose