Open Source Software

I took a course about Linux when I was an undergraduate student. The version we learned is the Redhat. Although its interface was friendlier than Unix’s and all students’ major were MIS In the course, only three of us could use the system well (two of them were asked to be familiar with it because they were lab managers). We were also asked to use Openoffice in that course. I have to say I don’ have any memory about using it. The only memory I have about it is junk. Some of open source software I used before is not user friendly. I don’t know why they make it so difficult. One senior student told me that people use these kind of software have a sense of superiority. They think they are smarter than others; they think they are modern; they think they are different.

“Open source software is not free, however, when properly viewed from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective. Like all other systems, it requires investments for hardware, user support staff, training, integration with other systems, and so forth.” (Wheeler, 2004) For me, the training costs the most time and money, because there are always new users involving in. A user friendly product can solve this problem easily. Therefore, I think that the developers should take this cost seriously. For my understanding, some developers are against “user friendly.” They think their products are not for selling. They don’t need to please users.

The open source software will not be the trend. It is not because their effectiveness is lower than commercial software. The most important reason is that no one wants to conceal or improve the critical flaw – the unfriendly interface. MS uses the fancy graphic interface to cover the unstable operating system. Mac uses fancy appearance design to cover the closed structure. 

Reference
Wheeler, B. (2004). Open source 2007: How did this happen? EDUCAUSE Review, 39(4), 12-27. Retrieved on February 14, 2011, from http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0440.asp