Open Source vs Closed Source

Open Source vs. Closed Source

“Open vs. Closed. In many ways, it’s a battle that has been at the heart of the technology industry for most of its modern history” (Ingram, 2010). With varying opinions and heated debates as with anything there are always two sides of the argument. There are many pros and cons of both choices which will be described and also compared. So begs the question, which is best, open source or closed source?

First let’s talk about open source. The benefits for open source, which in another way could be a drawback, are the availability of open source operating systems. “In a process similar to peer review in the scientific community, open source code can be analyzed, audited, and vetted by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of concerned practitioners.” (Ross, 1999). With the free exchange of open source software anyone that would like to receive a copy would be able to too, which could possibly present danger to other users. Ross (1999), “Bugs and other aberrations can be quickly discovered and patched, creating a substantial disincentive for programmers to place back doors, Trojan Horses, and other kinds of malicious code in their programs. In this way, open source software can be more trustworthy than proprietary software, "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." Given open source, security problems can be characterized quickly and the fix will be obvious to someone” (para. 2). So in a way, with so many people being able to get their hands on open source software, there is an inherent risk of very dangerous expose but it also ensures that with the amount of people using open source software, viruses or any other malicious code would be found and fixed swiftly.

Now let’s take a look at closed source software and the benefits and drawbacks. The only real drawback that was noticeable was the lack of ability of customization. But with that being the main drawback, the benefits greatly outweigh the drawbacks. The main benefit of...