What is the reason behind the success of Open Source Essay

What is the reason behind the success of Open Source - Essay Example For software to become popular there is need to have a large pool of users. Many users ensure that the software penetrates communities at a higher momentum which in turn creates a snowball effect. Open source software needs also to be compatible with the end users’ needs. It is important to note that consumers of software products need to be protected to a certain degree by developers. However, this liability is not that tight in open source programs. An example is Linux which comes with no warranty or liability clauses and consumers are forced at times to stay with their problems. This reduced obligation by the corporate in respect to functionality or failures of the system makes many engage in open source development. Again in the corporate scenario there are time limits within which problems need to be fixed in case of failures. Open source developers usually save on cost in this respect by having another party make changes or offer support at a small fee. An example of thi s arrangement is Linux and Red Hut. Licensing of open source receives relaxed regulations for example from Free Software Foundation. These regulations make it possible to integrate technical support from a pool of experts. Therefore, for an open source to be adopted by many, programmers are supposed to integrate their resources in bridging the gap of consumer needs. Source Management There is a great deal of difference when an individual develops software and when a pool of programmers develops the same. One person is highly likely to overlook many aspects that are necessary in making the software compatible with the needs of the end user. It is however a challenge to have many developers scattered all over the world doing parallel jobs but it is even worse when there are many development streams involved. This is the case with Linux where the support team is required to deal with various end user preferences all at the same time. In software development and fixing of bugs one chang e can lead to changes in many other segments of the system. This problem has however been simplified in the last decade or so owing to the availability of high speed internet connectivity at low cost for example the AOL (Rehman & Carleton University, 2006). This makes testing of changes faster and efficient. In overall, the free or low cost connection coupled with high speeds provide for the execution of real time changes. This in turn promotes usage and access for many people; both end users and programmers from around the world. Development Environment In developing open source three things are necessary; network, software and the hardware. It is a fact that more people today are able to access internet at the comfort of their homes than it was the case a decade ago. It is however important to note that programmers mostly require high speeds to do their job efficiently. Cable internet in many countries and expanded bandwidth per user, especially at home have hugely increased the n umber of developers. These two factors act as motivators for programmers to take their time to develop software. The hardware on the other hand has changed over the years. Pentium III has been replaced by Pentium IV and now Duo Core machines are in the market. The hardware efficiency and capability to handle huge tasks are other factors to consider. Developers not only require high internet speeds but also high speed machines. There are pieces of software that are more complex than others therefore requiring high speed machines with big hard drive; all of which are possible nowadays. These current capabilities are in line with the increasing sophistication in integrating software development. However, Eclipse IDE is an example of a facilitator which enables programmers to use various operating systems (Rehman & Carleton University, 2006). Through this technology developers are able to scan libraries for materials with increased flexibility and ease. Such software