Common Misunderstandings about Open Source
Open source software is often confused with other software whose minimal cost of acquisition makes it appear similar:
- Software which follows the open source guidance, but whose licence has not been accepted by the OSI: open source is not achieved by self-certification
- Software released with source under special conditions, such as not allowing commercial use; this contravenes one of the fundamental criteria of the OSD
- Software which can be freely redistributed, but without source, or the right to modify or redistribute it; again, such software does not have an open source licence.
In addition, it is a common myth that 'open source equals no cost'. Apart from the obvious costs of technical support/development staff, open source software incurs many of the same categories of cost as that of developing in-house or implementing commercial products, this may still include licensing and maintenance elements although these will usually be lower than their commercial counterparts. As the sector progresses towards 'community source' software - inter-institutional collaborative development of software tools and systems - there is a real hope that this may lessen the total cost of ownership, as products are more tailored to educational needs and/or more flexibly manipulated, rather than incurring the high costs of customised, clumsy 'bolt-ons' to commercial products that are ill-fitting to FE and HE needs. The University of Strathclyde have provided a guide to investing in such software and services.
