Open source software – what’s all that about
In the world of Voluntary Sector ICT the term
‘open source’ software is used more and more
these days. Some may have heard about this,
while others will be wondering what it is and what
it does.
Basically, open source software is a free or low
cost alternative to the well known packages such
as Microsoft Office, Publisher, Internet Explorer
etc.
Open source is created by people willing to
share the products they have developed for no
charge. As the products become well known and
are used by many users around the world they
have become as reliable and established as the
bigger commercial products.
Word processing, spreadsheets or database
tasks can all be carried
out by using open source
software – for a fraction of the set up cost.
To find out about what open source can be
used for and see examples of the software, the
following websites are full of information.
· www.openoffice.org
· www.opensourceconsortium.org
· www.itforcharities.co.uk/ic/opensour.htm
Social Software is a group of volunteers based
in the UK which hopes to find ways of bringing
the benefits of Open Source Software to the
voluntary / community sector.
Visit their website at www.socialsoftware.org to
find out more about open source software.