Open source is where it's at

Sure open-source applications and open-source operating systems are intertwined, but I think the near future is all about people using open-source apps on non-Linux operating systems, i.e. using free software on their existing Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows platforms.

It's a natural progression from paying for all software (or, all too commonly, "stealing" those apps) and suffering through the upgrades that follow, paying again and again, yet not having the shock to the system, bodily and computer-wise, of trying to get Linux to work.

I say this partially because my experiences with OS X and Windows XP on newish hardware are overwhelmingly positive. The OSes pretty much never crash, and apps only crash regularly (and recovery is easy). Additionally, the major apps, in Windows anyway, are tuned to load and work quickly. Try loading Word or IE in Windows -- it's almost instant. That's because, as some say, major components of those programs are preloaded with the OS kernel. Whatever the reason, I like it. I don't see the same speed in OS X -- many apps take too long to load, although they're plenty fast once they get going. But from a stability and compatibility point, the two "major" PC OSes work very, very well.

But since I don't want to pay $140-$200 every couple of years for "upgrades," I'm looking extra closely at Linux.

Still, for the business world, it's possible to use Linux and save money, but it's not likely for the majority of businesses, which are pretty much going to order Windows boxes and plop them on desks. That's where open-source software can really shine. Everybody already uses Firefox, and more and more are using Open Office, even if it is slower than MS Office. It's a lot freer, as in NOT $400 or so, and that makes a big difference when it comes to equipment budgets.

Already at the Daily News, we use OO, and a lot of us need the functionality of Photoshop (or even the "light" version). But the company is not running out and purchasing either the $700-ish Adobe CS or even the $70-ish Photoshop Elements. Instead, a bunch of us are using The GIMP, the open-source image-editing program that runs on Linux, Windows and OS X and, again, while possibly not quite as good as the full version of Photoshop, is a whole lot cheaper, being free and all.

So when it comes to apps, it's a slam dunk to pay nothing instead of hundreds of dollars. For operating systems, it's a tougher non-sell, since the OS generally comes "bundled" with the hardware and is good for the life of the box. I can assure you, this newsroom full of Dell Optiplexes with Windows XP will never see Vista -- and that's a good thing, too, since they don't (and never will) have enough memory or graphics power to properly run the latest MS operating system.

Of course, open-source apps on closed-source operating systems is closer to wholly open-source computing, and the needle is most definitely moving.