BENEFITS OF USING FOSS

FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE'S

FOSS COMMUNITY – NSBM | #FOSSTARTER

RECAP …

• “Police raid unnamed corporate firm for software piracy “ – sundaytimes.lk

• “Lankan software piracy rate at 84% “ - dailymirror.lk

• “Microsoft Sri Lanka has launched the Genuine Software Initiative” – Microsoft.com

AS A DEVELOPING NATION …

• Legal issues with software ( Pirate Usages ) • Paying $119.99 ? What about Other Applications ?• Security, reliability and stability• Vendor Independence/ open standards• Localization

FOUR MAJOR FREEDOM PARTS

• Run• Study how program works• Redistribute copies• Modify / improvise

Story of Linux video

WHY USE FREE & OPEN SOURCE

• The availability of the source code.

• The right of code modification, improvement and redistribution.

• Large base of developers and users.

• Have an alternative.

• Free marketing and support for your project.

• Not tied to a single vendor• Big community to support• Better Security• Reliability & Stability

WHY USE FREE & OPEN SOURCE … 2

A LITTLE COMPARE ?

• FULL ACCESS Vs No ACCESS

• Licensing freedom vs. licensing restrictions

ADVANTAGES

• Strategic Benefits• Economic Benefits• Social Benefits• other Benefits

Strategic Benefitsa) Developing local capacity/industryb) Reducing imports/conserving foreign exchangec ) Enhancing national securityd) Reducing copyright infringementse) Enabling localization

- Microsoft Solution Software Cost

Software CostNorton Antivirus 2002 $2,498

MS Internet Information Server $0

MS Windows 2000 Advanced Server $19,995

MS Commerce Server $12,333

MS ISA Standard Server 2000 $1,499

MS SQL Server 2000 $4,999MS Exchange Standard Server 2000 $1,299

Windows XP Professional $14,950

MS Visual Studio 6.0 $2,237MS Office Standard $23,950Adobe Photoshop 6 $1,218Additional Client Access Licenses $2,010

Total $87,988

- FOSS Solution Software Cost

Software Cost

Linux Distribution (eq Red Hat 9.0) $80

Apache (Web server) $0

Squid (Proxy server) $0

PostgreSQL (Database) $0

iptables (Firewall) $0

Sendmail/Postfix (Mail servers) $0

KDevelop (IDE) $0

GIMP (Graphics) $0

Open Office (Productivity suite) $0

OSCommerce (e-Commerce suite) $0

Total $80