Open-Source Software

We've had a lot of discussion with clients and colleagues recently about the selection and implementation of open -source software for desktop computers. What is open-source? It's software which is written without the often restrictive, commercial licenses like Microsoft and other companies use, often by small teams in their spare time. It also means you can modify and redistribute the software under an open licence. We like open-source as it keeps costs down, the implementation is easier for us as we can get sites and applications up and running more quickly and we can modify it to suit our, and our clients, needs.

Our office desktops and laptops use open-source software like the Open Office suite, Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client. We also use open-source image tools, sound editors along with free, but not open-source, applications like Foxit PDF reader, AVG anti-virus, ZoneAlarm firewall and many others. The net effect for you, the consumer, is you can run a fully featured computer system for a fraction of the price of using paid-for, commercial versions. We use Windows XP at the moment, largely because they come with it pre-installed, but our plan is to move across to a desktop Linux shortly.

The main Wintercorn web server also uses open-source software - Linux operating system, Apache web server, MySQL databases and the PHP programming language. Our in-house testing server currently runs a version of Redhat Linux and our VPN uses the same mix of components plus a few bespoke items.

Open-source is growing as a movement and a philosophy. This doesn't mean the big software companies are going out of business, but it does mean that the barriers to intricate and advanced software applications are breaking down all the time and you can run an office with all of the essential applications for little or no cost. (It's always nice to give a donation to the developers though - stops them from starving)