#27452
Calculating the True Price of Software
Therefore, the major difference in worldview between open source advocates and proprietary software license advocates is explainable as a differing opinion on the correct value of the volatility of maintenance and upgrade pricing. People who believe that the pricing on maintenance is stable and unlikely to change see greater intrinsic value in the software. People who fear that the pricing is subject to large fluctuations see no intrinsic value in the up-front license; stripped of the options, the license value approaches $0.
Lefkowitz, Robert. O'Reilly and Associates (2005). Articles>Technology>Software>Open Source
#29459
Categories of Free and Non-Free Software
A glossary of various categories of software that are often mentioned in discussions of free software.
Free Software Foundation (2005). Articles>Software>Open Source
#25041
Checklist for Justifying Free Software
In a few years viewing source code within the major components of software infrastructure will probably be a routine way of doing business. In the meantime it seems that the only reason managers want free software is because it is free (as in free of costs). That's not a good reason in itself: in the long run there are compelling reasons that robust, mission critical infrastructure software should be made free software.
Spence, Malcolm D. Free Software Magazine (2005). Articles>Software>Open Source
#19539
Clustering and Dependencies in Free/Open Source Software Development: Methodology and Tools 
This paper addresses the problem of measurement of non-monetary economic activity, specifically in the area of free/open source software [1] communities. It describes the problems associated with research on these communities in the absence of measurable monetary transactions, and suggests possible alternatives. A class of techniques using software source code as factual documentation of economic activity is described and a methodology for the extraction, interpretation and analysis of empirical data from software source code is detailed, with the outline of algorithms for identifying collaborative authorship and determining the identity of coherent economic actors in developer communities. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the application of these techniques to a base of software.
Aiyer Ghosh, Rishab. First Monday (2003). Articles>Software>Open Source>Community
#28368
Free or Open-Source Tools for Technical Communicators, Part 1: The Software 
This article takes a look at some of the most successful free and open-source products available for technical communicators and their clients.
Curley, Charles. Intercom (2006). Articles>TC>Software>Open Source
#12963
The idea behind Open Source is simple: everyone should have the freedom to copy, distribute, and change source code. The implications, however, overturn the conventional high-tech business model. When software is no longer intellectual property, everything changes. Development is quicker because more people are involved. Bugs are caught more quickly. Instead of being passive consumers, customers can become partners in development. Instead of selling software, companies sell hardware, services, or added value. Internally, companies become more interactive and more loosely structured. If Open Source continues to gather speed, high-tech workers will discover that it is not just a development model, but also a new model for corporate life. For writers, the approach of Open Source could be especially important. How documentation is viewed and used, how writers interact with developers, and what tools are used--all of these and more could be affected by the Open Source movement.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2000). Articles>Software>Open Source
#27884
Indexing with Open Source Tools 
The index can often be the most heavily used 'chapter' in any publication and helping the user find an answer is the key to fulfilling the technical document's mission, justifying the effort and expense for its creation. Yet, indexing facilities in open source packages for document creation remains largely unexplored, offering a marvelous opportunity to do it right! This article provides a generic specification (with reasons) to open source developers for creating useful indexing facilities in packages such as OpenOffice and Scribus. It also informs writers about what to look for and what to ask for in any indexing tool. Finally, the article demonstrates the need for software developers to work closely with practitioners and users.
Brown, Fred. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Indexing>Software>Open Source
#27155
Is Open Source is Killing the Lone Coder?
It is probably more true that open source is helping the lone coder find a niche or their own market share. There are plenty of them and more are appearing everyday. With potential clients looking for specialists in content management software like Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, Typo3 and a gang of newcomers finding a niche is becoming increasingly easier.
Hiveminds (2005). Articles>Collaboration>Software>Open Source
#29190
Open source is a licensing model where the software and the source code are distributed without requiring licensing fees.
Gottlieb, Seth. Content Management Professionals (2007). Articles>Software>Open Source
#22080
Open-Source Content Management Systems
Open-source CMS has now matured to the point where it should be considered alongside commercial products, but is not without its weaknesses and issues.
Robertson, James. Step Two (2004). Articles>Content Management>Software>Open Source
#19997
Open-Source Software: Gaining Ground
Have you ever run across a bug in your word processor that interfered with your work? Or perhaps you've wished that your graphics program had a certain feature that would make your life easier. With most commercial software, you're at the mercy of the company that created it. All you can do is call the technical support line, explain the situation, and hope that there's a work-around or that your issue will be addressed whenever the next version is released. With proprietary software, the company owns the software and doesn't allow anyone else to modify it or even see the source code -- the human-readable (well, programmer-readable) instructions used to create the executable file that the computer runs. Some people have likened such software to a car with the hood locked shut so that only the manufacturer can service it. But with open-source software, you have other options because you have the source code. If you have the knowledge, you can modify the program yourself. If not, you can hire a programmer to make the changes you want.
Ivey, Keith C. Editorial Eye, The (1998). Articles>Software>Open Source
#13957
Is Linux in your technical writing future? The possibility is becoming too strong to ignore. Companies like Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston are using Linux now, and countries ranging from Germany and France to Pakistan and Venezuela are adapting it and other open source software for government business. In high-tech, IBM reports that over one thousand of its business partners became Linux-certified in 2001, and the Linux applications listed in the IBM Global Solutions Directory rose from 2300 to 2800 in the six months between June 2001 and January 2002. In a little less than three years, Linux has captured over a third of the server market, and, while its share of the desktop market seems stalled at four percent, growing concerns about security, the cost of commercial software, and restrictive licensing practices are starting to change that.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Software>Open Source>Linux
#26740
Understanding Open Source, Part 1
Open source software is big news right now. We've heard from big-name corporations who support it and oppose it. A number of high-profile intellectual property battles concern it. You probably know an open source zealot who's spent some time extolling its virtues. Open source software is a good thing, and has an important place in the tech sector. Closed source software also has its place, and the industry will benefit most from cooperation between the two.
Feldman, David. KMworld (2006). Articles>Technology>Software>Open Source
#30871
Usability in Open Source Software
Open source is a software licensing philosophy which believes the human readable code source of a software should be available for the public to freely install, modify, or redistribute. The term 'open source' can also refer to the community and development practices of thousands of free/libre/open source software (FLOSS) projects who subscribe to this philosophy and license their software under one of the many available software licenses.
Paul, Celeste Lyn. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>Software>Open Source
#18293
What Is Open Source Software And Is It Usable?
Open Source Software (OSS) is a software project where all the source code is freely available, usually according to a licensing agreement baring commercial gain on the source. The contributors to the project are usually part-time computing enthusiasts with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Usability specialists are not generally part of the development process.
Watkins, Robert. Usability Professionals Association (2001). Articles>Usability>Open Source>Software
#25255
Why Free IT Management Tools are Gaining Traction
Free software has penetrated close to three-quarters of all multi-billion dollar corporations and growth continues steadily. Industry research confirms that the primary reason IT organizations purchase free software solutions is the opportunity to reduce costs and improve technology performance. While leading products such as Linux, Apache and MySQL have generated the most attention, free software tools for IT management such as Nagios have matured and are poised for mainstream adoption.
Winkelstein, Will. Free Software Magazine (2005). Articles>Software>Open Source
#32373
Introduction to Web Content Management Systems: Part One
Content Management System (CMS) software tools give even the smallest business the chance to have a first-rate, interactive web presence. Packed with powerful features, and easily extended with add-on modules, CMS tools reduce web site development time and costs while providing interactivity, distributed responsibility, security, convenience and significant cost savings.
Kephart, Tom. New Tech Heroes (2008). Articles>Content Management>Software>Open Source
#32440
Looking for Open Source CMS and Portal Software Options
I find choosing a CMS incredibly difficult, and evaluating them is very time consuming and often frustrating. There are hundreds of options, one worse than the other. To date I have never come across a CMS that doesn’t have serious flaws. Even if a CMS looks good at a glance, once you start digging deeper you will always encounter problems with usability, accessibility, and front-end code.
Johansson, Roger. 456 Berea Street (2008). Articles>Content Management>Software>Open Source
#32600
Eight Arguments for Open Source
Is Open Source better? It's not a black and white question; the answer will depend on your needs and circumstances. Still, there are some very good things to be said for supporting Open Source and Open Standards. Here's a list of the top reasons why we prefer Open Standards and Open Source development.
Shreves, Ric. Water and Stone (2004). Articles>Software>Open Source>Business Case
#32605
The CMS market really took wing with the liftoff of the LAMP stack and the growth of a supportive development community. Suddenly it seemed everyone was producing LAMP-based CMSes under Open Source licenses.
Shreves, Ric. Water and Stone (2006). Articles>Content Management>Software>Open Source
#32631
Microsoft Word: An Unnecessary Evil?
First and foremost, Microsoft Word is a solid piece of software, and the 2007 version is untouchable at present. It pretty much sets the standard. It's also in no way evil in and of itself. That said, it's unfortunately not free, so here are some alternatives that are.
MattBarton.net (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Open Source
#32652
Introduction to Django: Helping Perfectionists With Deadlines
Django is an open-source Web framework, written in Python, that allows you to easily and rapidly develop interactive, data-centric web applications. It came into being when two Web developers—Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison—in Kansas, after moving their newspaper’s website from PHP to Python, found themselves repeatedly solving similar problems. They decided to extract the common functionality and released the resulting framework in 2005.
Ellis, Dan. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Web Design>Software>Open Source
#33219
It's Possible to Ditch Microsoft Office
Is today's OpenOffice good enough for the enterprise? For most jobs—word processing, presentations or spreadsheets—the answer is yes. Compatibility with Microsoft Office isn't a problem unless sophisticated macros are involved. Interoperability, the greatest hurdle to conquer on the way to adoption, is almost a nonissue. OpenOffice even offers features missing in Microsoft Office, like PDF or Flash data exports.
Ciurana, Eugene. ComputerWorld (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Open Source
#33283
This whole category of software desperately needs to be redesigned with writers, editors, designers, and site owners in mind. Here are my recommendations to the folks writing open source content management systems.
Veen, Jeffrey. Adaptive Path (2004). Articles>Content Management>Software>Open Source
#34024
Top 3 Open Source Software You Can Use to Write and Design Technical Documents
Although I love using the proprietary software that I’ve mentioned in the first sentence, I enjoy using open source software as well since some of them are actually better than the paid software in some respects.
Akinci, Ugur. Technical Communication Center (2009). Articles>Software>Technical Writing>Open Source
