FOSS - What's in it for me?

This philosophy of FOSS results in tremendous benefits to users. These include:

• Reduced Cost - The cost of FOSS software remains fixed even when the number of users increases. For example, if you use GNU/Linux as your operating system, in your office, the same CD can be duplicated and distributed to all users. However, if you opt for a “licensed” Microsoft Operating System, it would have to be purchased for each user’s desktop.

• Reliability/ Stability - Free software is the combined result of the experience and the intelligence of all the participants. Its reliability increases as time passes, with all the corrections which are made.

• Portability - This quality is not intrinsic to free software, but is very often seen in free software. If software meets success, it will necessarily be adapted to other environments than those initially considered.

• Performance - Resulting from a lot of examinations, the use of algorithms coming from advanced research works, as well as tested by various usages, free software have good performance characteristics by nature.

• Interoperability - The support in Linux, for example, of a lot of network protocols, file system formats, and even binary compatibility modes assures a good interoperability.

• Reactivity - Rapid solution of corrections to a given problem.

• Security – Transparency of source code results in faster identification and fixing of bugs and security loopholes.

FOSS is relevant and important in education institutions because access to the source code of the programs allows students to explore internals of complex systems and hence acquire a deeper understanding of what they study. For example, students learn about operating system concepts by checking out the code which implements similar functionalities in Linux. Today, most educational programs require access to a lot of computing software resources, e.g., Matlab, circuit simulators, drawing packages, etc. Mostly proprietary solutions are used by institutions, costing lakhs of Rupees in license fee. FOSS solutions are available in many areas, with the commonly used licensing terms for distribution and modification, and in almost all cases, at zero cost.There is no dearth of FOSS software. FOSS systems and tools include - Linux and BSD Operating Systems, OpenOffice Writer for word processing, Open Office Math for mathematical equations, Moodle for a Learning Management System, audacity for audio editing, blender for 3-D animation/ rendering, gimp for photo editing, Scilab for Scientific Applications, Beowulf, Mosix for distributed computing, the list goes on and on.