FAQ's

What is Open Source Software?
Open Source Software is software for which the underlying programming code is available to the users so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software incorporating their changes. There are many types of Open Source Software, mainly differing in the licensing term under which (altered) copies of the source code may (or must be) redistributed. (e.g. GNU GPL, Apache License, Mozilla Public License)

What is the GNU GPL?
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project (a project to create a complete free software operating system). It has since become the most popular license for free software (or "open source software"). 
The latest version of the license, version 2, was released in 1991.  The next version of the license, version 3, is currently due for release in July 2007.  The GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) is a modified version of the GPL, intended for some software libraries.
Alloy Solutions primarily uses Open Source software released under the GPL license.

Is open source software really free?
The term “open source” software is used by some people to mean more or less the same category as free software. It is not exactly the same class of software: free software accepts some licenses that open source considers too restrictive, and there are free software licenses that open source have not accepted. However, the differences in extension of the category are small: nearly all free software is open source, and nearly all open source software is free.

If it is really free how do the people who write the software earn money?
A majority of people who write open source code do it as part of their jobs.
Creativity is also an important factor, but it is far from the only reason programmers "participate in the open source community."

There's also a substantial (growing) crowd working on free or open source software that is also the "base" for a commercial product. OpenOffice development is sponsored by Sun Microsystems, and OpenOffice is free, but Sun rolls OpenOffice improvements into pay-for StarOffice.

An interesting note about open source programming is that having your name on a project can be a nice resume boost. Open source projects not only give young programmers valuable experience, but give potential employers a way to evaluate their work by looking directly at source code they have written, something they can't do if an applicant has only worked on proprietary software.

If it is free why would the developer of the software ensure that it is of high quality?
"The open source community attracts very bright, very motivated developers, who although frequently unpaid, are often very disciplined since the community will reject their work if it is not up to an acceptable standard. In addition, these developers are not part of corporate cultures where the best route to large salaries is to move into management; hence some open source developers are amongst the most experienced in the industry. Further, all users of open source products have access to the source code and debugging tools, and hence often suggest both bug fixes and enhancements as actual changes to the source code. Consequently the quality of software produced by the Open Source community sometimes exceeds that produced by purely commercial organisations."

Is the software reliable?
Open source promotes software reliability and quality by supporting independent peer review and rapid evolution of source code.

Will I own the software once I deploy it in my company?
According to the terms of the GNU GPL license you own the software and any modifications you have made to it in most cases but you cannot redistribute it for commercial gain.

Why do I need Alloy Solutions?
Alloy Solutions has the expertise to help you successfully implement an Open Source software solution allowing you to focus on your core business. Following the deployment you can decide to manage and maintain the solution on your own or work out a maintenance package with Alloy Solutions.

Can I/my organization get support for open source software?
Alloy Solutions provides support packages tailored to your specific needs covering any deployed open source solution. We leverage our relationships with our technology partners as well as the entire open source community.

What are the benefits of using open source Software?
There are several benefits of using Open Source software.  Here a just a few explained briefly.

The availability of the source code and the right to modify it is very important. It enables the unlimited tuning and improvement of a software product.

The right to use the software in any way. This, combined with redistribution rights, ensures (if the software is useful enough), a large population of users, which helps in turn to build up a market for support and customization of the software, which can only attract more and more developers to work in the project. This in turn helps to improve the quality of the product, and to improve its functionality. This, once more, will cause more and more users to give the product a try, and probably to use it regularly.

There is no one with the power to restrict in a unilateral way how the software is used, even in a retroactive way. Such a power manifests, for instance, when a proprietary software vendor decides not to upgrade some software product for some old platform. In this case, customers can only stick to the old version of the software, or switch to another product. If open source software is used, customers can also fund some development for the desired platform, or look for other vendors to provide the upgrades (of the very same product).

There is no single entity on which the future of the software depends. This is a very common concern with proprietary software. Let us say that a company uses a software product, and relies on the software manufacturer for upgrades and continued development. If the software manufacturer closes doors, or decides to discontinue development of the product, no one has the right to take the program and continue development on it, effectively killing its usability in the market. This has happened many times, and this problem is amplified by the recent mergers in the software market, that usually lead to “cannibalization” of some software product to allow just one or two to get to the market. Open source software effectively protects against this, because if the group or company that originated the code decides to stop development, it is always possible to fund another software group to continue the maintenance and improvement, without legal or practical limitations.

No per-copy fees can be asked for modified versions, and anyone can use the current code base to start new projects. Working knowledge can be gathered at a minimal cost. This is what made Internet software systems such an important factor in today’s world: students, and people trying new technologies were able to integrate and adopt them immediately, without the hurdles of commercial or non-disclosure license agreements. In addition, the right to freely modify them allowed for the incredible expansion in the number of communication protocols and systems, each perfectly tailored to the needs of their users. This is also a reason for the overwhelming success of the Linux kernel, widely employed by students thanks to its near-zero cost, and subsequently used by the same students in the startups originated by them, when they turn into entrepreneurs after leaving University.

There are fewer conflicting priorities due to marketing pressures. This is a simple consequence of the fact that there is no single commercial entity pushing for precise delivery dates or features that must be supported. Usually open source software is delivered “when it is ready”, and when the development team feels that its quality is good enough. This means that software usually does not need as many “service packs”, updates and such, reducing the maintenance cost.

I am interested in benefiting from an open source implementation, what should I do first?
Call or email Alloy Solutions and we will be happy to help you realize the benefits of using open source software.

What are the different types of Open Source applications, office etc.?
There are hundreds of open source applications.  Here are a few of the categories under which they appear:-

• Enterprise management systems
• Data storage management
• Document editing
• File managers
• Games
• Content management systems
• Media applications
• Networking and internet applications/systems
• Operating systems
• Personal information managers
• Publishing applications
• Security applications
• Financial applications