Open-source software

It is really hard for me to have an opinion about open-source software, because before my first computer class, I did not know anything about it. Since my usage of computers limits itself to university researches, emails, and some music downloading, I am not that aware of what is out there. Although, since I know what open-source software is, I can say that before that computer class I never used any, well I do not think I did. However, now I have some that we had to download to figure out what it is and how it works. What I have realized about that kind of software is that it is said to be as good, if not better than the software we can buy in the stores, because it is always updated my the community.

After reading the articles provided, I must say, that I agree with the idea that those software are great tools. They are as effective as the other software I had on my computer and so far, I did not have problems with it. However, it’s only been two weeks, so time will tell.

What I am thinking about regarding those tools is the money that schools put into computer software, and what money they could save by using the free ones. It’s obvious that a lot of money could be saved and put somewhere else.

What amazes me as well is that people are having fun repairing the bugs that the software encounter and from what I get, they are not all paid to do so. I guess it’s seen as practice just like any other field of study where you practice to get better without necessarily being paid.

So far, I do not see a reason not to be for that kind of computer tools, in particular, if the bugs are repaired more effectively than on the tools that we pay for.