Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
introductory presentation on FOSSI
Citation preview
(FOSS)
Presenter: Saleema A. GulzarMScN, BScN, BA, RN
Assistant ProfessorAKU-SONAM
Acknowledgement: Dodo Khan Abdul Muqeet
(eHealth)
Objectives At the end of the presentation participants
will be able to: Define FOSSList type of soft ware development Illustrate the background of FOSSDiscuss the benefits and strengths of FOSS
SoftwareSoftware, is a collection of computer program
and related data that provide the instructions to a computer what to do and how to do it.
Computer instructions or data. Anything that can be stored electronically is software
Type of Software Development
Free and Open Source SoftwareProprietary SoftwareIn-house Software
Proprietary Software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of its owner. The purchaser, or licensee, is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, but restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.
MS OfficeInternet ExplorerSkype
In-House Software DevelopmentIn-House development means that a company has
programmers on its staff and develops software internally.
What Does ‘Free’ Mean?
Freedom to run the program for any purposeFreedom to study and modify the programFreedom to copy the program so you can help your
neighborFreedom to improve the program, and release your
improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
8
Software which is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code.
Brief Background of FOSS 1986 – Free Software Foundation was born.
To promote 'free software'. 1991 – Linus Torvalds distributed a Unix-like
kernel and encouraged everyone to help improve it. The kernel was later named “Linux” and then integrated with GNU into an operating system called “GNU/Linux”.
1994 – Apache, the now popular web server system, was born.
Brief Background of FOSS 1995 – Red Hat was born. 1998 – Netscape released Netscape
Navigator code base under open source. This paved the way for development of Mozilla Firefox.
FOSS?Software that can be accessible freelySource code is availableSoftware can be altered to suit users needsSoftware can be re-distributed freely without violating
copyrights
“ SOFTWARE INCAPABLE OF CREATING MONOPOLIES”
“SOFTWARE THAT PROMOTES SHARING”
“SOFTWARE THAT MAINTAINS YOUR FREEDOM”
FOSS definedFFree and ree and OOpen pen SSource ource SSoftwareoftware
Free Software
Open Source Software
Software considered to be alternative to a proprietary one
For example: Mozilla Firefox as alternative to
Internet Explorer; OpenOffice to Microsoft
Office; GIMP to Photoshop.
“Proprietary” denotes a software user's lack of freedom to study,
modify and redistribute the
software
Benefits of FOSSSoftware that will induce growth of Local Software industriesNo need to rely on other companySoftware that will induce economic development tapping on local
talent and human resourcesEncourage use of local Software at National Levels Not war on Microsoft or any other proprietary vendorNot war on copyrightsTranslatable into local languagesBusiness Not As Usual
Make or Buy?
You always have the option of building your own software
This should only be considered when you cannot find adequate software or the software is too expensive or would require extensive modifications
ModifyYou always have the option of building your own
softwareAll software will require some modification.
Always look at how easy it is to modify the software and who will do the modifications.
Make vs. Buy… Or ModifyBuy Software
– May not be an exact fit to your needsBuild Software
– Long expensive process not guaranteed to succeed.Modify
Start with open source software that you can modifyThis may meet only part of your needs but can be
modified to meet your exact requirementsEveryone benefits from your investment in the
software
Modification and Support
Alternative support options (open source can provide the option of multiple vendors for support)
Customization and software modification capabilities
Open Source Criteria…Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
License Must Not Be Specific to a Product The rights attached to the program must not depend on the
program's being part of a particular software distribution. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
License Must Be Technology-Neutral No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual
technology or style of interface
Some FOSS Equivalents to Proprietary SoftwaresCategory Proprietary FOSS
Office Microsoft Office, iWork OpenOffice, KOffice, Abiword, Gnumeric, Lotus Symphony
Desktop Publishing
Adobe PageMaker Scribus
Image Manipulation/Graphics Production
Adobe Photoshop GIMP, Inkscape
Email Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express
Thunderbird
Web Browser Internet Explorer Firefox
Voice Over IP Skype Ekiga
Database Microsoft Access, SQL Server OpenOffice Base, PostgreSQL, MySQL
Media Player Microsoft Media Player, Power DVD
Totem, VLC, Mplayer
Chat Yahoo Messenger Pidgin, Empathy
Video Editing Adobe Premier, Final Cut Cinelerra, Kino
FOSS StrengthsAbility to fit local needs Availability of the source code means that you can modify and enhance
the software to more closely fit your own needs.
No restrictions on use No restrictions on how the software is used and no invoices for each
user license.
Low cost No charge for the software itself. If other libraries share their efforts,
each user’s cost is reduced. Pay only for needed support or any additional products & services if required. Even then huge savings than commercial SW.
Innovation With open source code, users keep-up innovating, improving which
means often much faster development cycle when compared to proprietary software.
FOSS Strengths.. User-driven
Traditional vendors focus on providing functionality meeting needs of the majority of their customers.
In contrast, OSS features emerge from the community of users.
This makes OSS development user-driven: you decide what features are important and deserve attention rather than a vendor.
Collaboration Vibrant local, national and global user groups collaborate in
creativity, development and trouble shooting. Transfer of Technical Know-How
Being active member and part of OSS community, your team members will learn the minimum required know-how of SW & technologies in use.
FOSS Strengths... Reliability
OSS is peer-reviewed software, exposed to extreme scrutiny, with problems being found and fixed instead of being kept secret until the wrong person discovers.
So the code base is more reliable than closed, proprietary software. Mature open-source code is as bulletproof as software ever gets.
People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. Security and Stability
Proprietary software, with 'closed' source code, support and future development rely solely on the resources of a single vendor.
If the vendor goes down, so does your product support. In contrast, OSS rely on stable code bases developed and
supported by many providers worldwide.
Some FOSS Health EMR: OpenMRS, Care2x, OpenVista and
OpenEHRTelehealth: iPath and telemedmailPACS: KPACS and ClearCanvasEnterprise Document Management System: Information Exchange : MIRTHEnterprise Document Management System:
alfresco
Thank You
