Open Source vs Microsoft

Some states and some companies are turning to open source software for a variety of reasons, some mentioned in this chapter. Some companies (say Microsoft) have gone on the record against open source software. Explain some of the advantages of using proprietary software and cite your advantages with websites that take or mention these positions.


Based on personal experience only, I can find pros and cons of both OpenSource and proprietary software.


When I was in middle school, I pretty much figured out that I wanted to be in the cretive industry. I made christmas cards, posters, comic books etc with the Office Suite. At the time I thought it was the bee's knees to drop some colorful Word Art onto every paper wrote. I eventually learned that Office actually blows when it comes to design work - you really need professional design software like the entire Adobe Suite to produce unique works. But for the soccer moms and untrained designers, programs like Pages and Microsoft Word are great are great easy to use items to spruce up their handouts (even though form a designers perspective, I think they look horrible visually.) I could be wrong, but I have never come across these features in neither Open Office nor Google's word processor. That said, the basic, most heavily used functions are supported - word processing, spell check, formatting etc...


I am always broke so I actually rely heavily on a few OpenSource programs for lightweight stuff. I use open Office and usually back up important works via GoogleDocs. Also an FTP client like CyberDuck - great! Now as a designer and film editor, there is no way you'd catch me using the open source stuff out there for that! I've tried it, and it, frankly, stinks! A PhotoShop alternative called Gimp Shop has gained some popularity, and I find it cumbersome, disconnected and not easy to use. Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and the rest of Adobe's ever expanding packages are designed to work together and thus pays for itself 10 times over. Seamless compatibility.


I also race professionally (cycling) and use a tool called a Power Tap to track my training load. Over the course of a 20 hour training week, it is important to gauge how well you were performing. The tool measures your exerted power. You then upload the data form your 6-hr adventure into the mountains of west virginia and analyze the data. Hands down the best software to do so is called TrainingPeaks. In a nutshell, if you upload your data every day, the software will basically tell you on what day this season you will totally be fried, and for how long. It also tells you when you are goign to be the best etc..


There are a few OpenSource formats - one is called Golden Chetah. Its ok, gets the job done for beginner PowerTap users, but its not the best. Its got lots of bugs, crashes the computer a lot, often deletes files etc. 


The Open Source v. Microsoft battle continues even in the realm of in-car entertainment and navigation systems. Microsoft has been working with Ford, Hyundai, and Fiat for the operating systems that control theses devices. According to cnet.com, software partners, The Genivi Group were asked to build another systems for GM, BMW, and others. Genivi is using Open Source stuff for their packages and Microsoft was not invited into the project. Genivi admits that their method is not as proven as Microsofts, who are at the mature stage of their product with version 4.0. "Microsoft has the advantage of a proven product, which many people have experienced in Ford and Fiat cars."


The same holds true elsewhere I think. Microsoft still has a proven track record - which sometimes bites them in the ass - and is thus still in business.  There are many programs I would rather pay for and know they work - like  the Adobe design, web design suites, and Final Cut Pro  (Apple's film editing software) but I have no problem using a text open source for text editing, FTP, email clients, and other simple tasks.