Open Source (Week 12)

Open source software is software with a source code that is open to be manipulated or modified.  Open source software is usually free and comes without restrictions on downloading or advertising as well.  Open source software can be the combination of many developers' code.  Websites like sourceforge.com allow for software developers to publish their source codes onto the internet and allow for other developers to see the code and tweak or change the code.  Open source software ranges in its uses.  from web browsing with firefox, checking mail with thunderbird, word processing with open office, or even photo editing with gimp.  Open source software is definitely an original creation of the internet generation.  Much like the internet itself, open source is a collaborative effort.  There are no disks or dvds to download and also, much like everything else on the internet, the content is free. Open source programmers have figured out ways around many costly software packages provided by major companies. 

Open source software is very important in my major and field.  The film industry is growing daily and tools are becoming cheaper and more accessible.  Avidemux for windows allows for pretty much anyone with any computer to edit video non-linearly.  This means that what becomes most important for film makers isn't the technology used, but rather the quality of the story and technique.  This also means that kids can start messing around with relatively advanced programs much earlier.  I used to have to hook up two VCRs together and edit tape to tape when I was really young, now kids can start utilizing computer programs early on which gives them a head start.  Having cheaper alternatives provided through open source software also forces major companies to bring their prices down in order to compete.  The same AVID system that was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars just a few years ago has come down in price drastically.  This can allow for film makers to put more of a films budget into other aspects of the picture.

LINK: http://open-source.gbdirect.co.uk/migration/benefit.html

The article I found starts out by describing open source software as being much more focused on quality over software features.  Where commercial software attempts to load a program with features that make the product more marketable and easier to sell, open source software doesn't have to worry about marketing and focuses more on stability within the program.  The people who make open source software regard peer recognition as very important.  They seek to impress their peers with clean design, reliability and maintainability.  This trickles down to the normal program user who gets a very efficiently designed program with a lot of reliability.  The article also describes that a relatively unknown benefit of open source software is auditability.  This is the idea that where a consumer has to trust a commercial company that says their program is safe and secure, open source software isn't hidden.  Anyone can physically look at the source code and determine if the claims made are indeed true.

Week 5 Blog pt 2

Open source software was the topic of the second part of this weeks material (the third part being word clouds).  I had heard of open source software before but didn't really know what it meant and I don't think I would have ever known had Stephen Fry's elegant British accent not informed me.  Open source software is software where the source code is not locked, rather open.  People can not only see the original programmers' source code but they can also modify it.  The GNU and Linux duo set out to provide an open source option to people because the creators felt it a right for the people to have an option that can be altered to fit their specific needs. 

Open Source software can be relevant to telecommunications and film production.  Editing Software can be very demanding on a computer and Composing software even more so.  Being able to customize a computer to suite these specific needs might be beneficial in these circumstances.  I could see how a large production company would be interested in this because it gives them versatility.  All people using their computers would have a custom layout designed to fit that companies needs.  All editing bays would be set up for editing, all pro-tools stations would be for composing, Autodesk Maya stations for 3d modeling and animation, etc.

http://www.b-independent.com/production/foss1.htm

The article I've attached talks about how open source software is redefining the roles in the movie industry.  Within the last few years affordable programs have come out on the market that allow pretty much anyone to perform basic editing and post production tasks.  The article talks about how people are using open source software to optimize their needs and streamline their work environment.  It gives the example of Firefox's email service Thunderbird as an open source program that is completely free off of the internet.