Prejudices against OSS - unknown, unloved
Prejuidices against OSS
With unsufficient recognition of the advantages of open source software the Dutch business lets opportunities in innovation pass by.
Suppliers mostly have sufficient knowledge of OSS. Most of the large hardware manufacturers and suppliers have an OSS businessline, OSS companies establish associations, various software suppliers make their applications suitable for OSS. The trade press regularly gives attention to OSS (for example Bits & Bytes, Computable). Technicians are over all well informed.
This applies to a lesser degree for management in SME and the public sector, exactly the groups that can profit the most from OSS. The danger lies in the fact that Dutch business anticipate insufficiently to the posibilities as a result that they create a deprivation regarding foreign countries.
Open source software is a technology that through its strongly innovative character can experience difficulties integrating within traditional industrial processes. Especially information is of importance for these new technologies to realize acceptation.
• Emotional thresholds that limit the acceptation of open source software can be challenged with good communication and broad-based information supply.
Lack of juridical liability
This is an irrational threshold. While almost all proprietary software is provided of an extensive declaration of none-liability this is regarded as a barrier for the use of OSS
Lack of suppport
This is neither a rational threshold. Mostly there are large communities that exist around large packages that can answer question and deliver bug-fixes at an unprecedented rate. Next to that more and more companies get involved that generate business from delivering support in OSS. Because the availability of the source code different companies can deliver support for the same product, so customers have a larger choice compared to proprietary software which benefits the quality of service substantial and stimulates market forces.
Lack of continuity
Again an irrational threshold. Because of the public availability of the code it is always possible to carry out maintenance and use older file standards. Compare this with the painfull discovery in numerous companies when their Word Perfect 4.2 archives were inaccessible in newer versions of other software. A recent development in the field of proprietary software shows that non open source software manufacturers want to break with guarantees on continuity by forcing users to replace older versions with newer ones.
Degree of complexity
Because OSS in origin had mainly technical users, mainly technical applications were offered. That also relates to the user profile: technical applications are mostly used by technicial people. The field of utilization however is changing; support for all office and domestic processes is available. Therefore large groups of non-technical users have obtained influence in software. Through that software has become more user-friendly. The negative image in this area however is not completely taken away.
Lack of applications
Here too applies that as a result of the technical users of the past, typical office and home applications were not supported until recently. For some years, thanks to support from the industry, this delay has been catched up very much. Also many non open source applications are being sold since some time for open source platforms. There is a recognised lack of open source applications in the field of applications of monopolistic organisations. It is for example impossible to get home banking applications for OSS operating systems. Also the tax diskette only works in 'monopoly country'. This should be an important example- and education function for the government.
Lack of education
On universities and colleges the use and development of OSS is already widespread. The Dutch education is especially good represented in the OSS community (Python/CWI, TCPWrappers ed./TUE, SWIProlog/UvA, the ICCE of the RuG). Therefore numerous students are allready educated in this matter. The eductation for businesses has only just started. The anticipation will be that the market for OSS education will follow the OSS software closely.
Lack of security
This threshold is completely rational. In the field it is common knowledge that the only way to develop safe sotware is to subdue the product to as many critical views as possible, and that is exactly the develop method for OSS. The painfull failures on computer security recur time after time from the premise 'security by obscurity'. Linux is therefore recognized as the utter most secure OSS OS, while in the field it is guarded as extremely incompetent to equip a public accessible internet server with an operating system that dominates the market in office environment.
