Opensource – a free lunch?

Prof. Dr. Clemens Bechter
Asian Institue of Technology

What do EGAT and ‘Lord of the Rings’ or for that matter NECTEC and the ‘Titanic’ have in common? Answer: all of them are using Opensource software. Hollywood’s DreamWorks runs its movie rendering on Linux, an Opensource Operating System. EGAT is the forerunner in using Opensource throughout the entire corporation in Thailand. Generally speaking Opensource are programmes whose licence give users the right to use the programmes for any purpose, modify the code and legally distribute copies of both. No license fees or royalties are payable. Related to this are the terms ‘freeware’ and ‘public domain’ software. The opposite is being referred to as proprietary or closed source software.

Tim Bernes-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, retrospectively contributes the success of the Internet to the fact that the software was all free i.e. Opensource. On the other hand Bill Gates asked in an Open Letter back in 1976 “Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put three man-years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product, and distribute it for free?” Reality is that there are numerous such people out there. The Boston Consulting Group (31. January 2002) published a survey showing the motivations for writing software for free:

• the Believers (‘Socialists’), who believe source code should be open (33%)
• the Skill Enhances, who do it for skill improvement (25%)
• the Self-Actualisers, who do it for intellectual stimulation (21%)
• the Professionals, who do it for work or professional status (21%)

In the public eye Opensource developers are often seen as computer nerds with little experience, but the study found that the average Opensource developer has 11 years work experience and is around 30 years old.

World-wide GNU/Linux is the No. 2 web serving Operating System with a market share of 24%, Windows NT accounting for 36% (IDC, June 2000). Apache is currently the No. 1 webserver with 64% market share followed by Microsoft IIS with 27% (Netcraft, April 2002). Sendmail (Opensource) is the leading email server with 42% market share followed by Microsoft Exchange with 18% (D.J. Bernstein, 2001). According to ‘PHPeveryWhere’ (http://php.weblogs.com/popularity) the market share of PHP is 30%; market leader is ASP with 48%. Many organisations support Opensource e.g., for Linux, IBM has become a major backer, now followed by others. Sun is offering Linux servers, and might soon add a Linux PC. Almost a fifth of server computers sold by Dell now have Linux installed rather than Windows (The Economist, 24.8.2002). Softwarepark Thailand hosts the Thai Linux User Group (TLUG) encouraging hereby the dissemination of knowledge within the Linux community.

The breakthrough from the server market into the desktop market has not happened yet. There are many equally suitable alternatives such as StarOffice/OpenOffice (‘Pla Dao’), but Microsoft has the first mover advantage. For more information, please visit: www.desktoplinux.com. This can be considered the real weakness of Linux and it is unlikely to disappear despite great efforts made by developers such as NECTEC with localised versions e.g., Thai Linux (‘Thai TLE’).

Besides market share it is important to look at criteria such as scaleability and security. Can the software be used for large as well as small projects? Does it support a wide range of hardware? In this respect Opensource is unbeatable because one can modify the source code. GNU/Linux has been optimised for massive parallel processing ‘Beowulf architecture’ down to PDAs and prototype implementations on a wristwatch or mobile phone.

Regarding security it is difficult to get valid data. www.attrition.org keeps track of defaced websites, out of which most are Windows, less than 20% run on GNU/Linux. Hacker attacks on Windows IIS amounted to 17 million times, Apache only 12 thousand times in 2001 (Wong, RSA: security, 2002). This taken in perspective to the fact that there are more Apache systems in place than IIS shows how popular it is to attack Microsoft. All widespread viruses/worms such as Code Red, Nimda, Sircam or the LoveLetter effected Microsoft products, not Apache. It’s a very difficult task to make products easy to use and at the same time secure. In today’s world all software is vulnerable, the question is how fast it can be fixed. Some argue that making the source code available gives attackers more leverage, the others argue that it gives the defenders more insight also. It appears overall that Opensource products can be fixed faster and are more secure.

Last but not least is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) parameter. A company with 100 employees a Windows NT license would cost more than 3000 USD for server and clients. Opensource is available as a free download. Including database, email server and developer environment, the initial investment becomes quite high. Upgrade costs are also high. Since Opensource can run more efficiently it can make use of older machines. Linux still runs on an i486 whereas Windows minimum spec is far above that. Cybersource (2002) found a saving of around 30% in TCO using the Opensouce approach. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Opensource always has the lowest TCO. Each case has to be analysed carefully before making a decision.

Especially in Asia Copyright issues become more in the focus of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) sponsored by Microsoft, Macromedia and Autodesk. The BSA may apply for a court order to legally storm the company’s office in search for illegal software copies.

How will Opensouce develop in years to come? Looking at the number of students who will be future decision-makers there might be a great potential for an even wider acceptance of Opensource. In academia the use of Opensource is a fixed part of the curriculum. The highly restrictive license agreements of proprietary software don’t conform to the academic freedom and researchers’ knowledge-sharing attitude. To developers and researchers the source code is essential. These students brought up with an Opensource mindset will carry the message to their future employers. The old saying “there is no such thing as a free lunch” has proven wrong in the context of software.