GMUVE Open Source FAQ
Submitted by dramus on Fri, 2005-07-01 23:40.
What License is GMUVE under?
GMUVE is an open source software product available under the General Public License.
So what does that mean?
It means simply, programmers on the Internet can read, redistribute, and modify the source for a piece of software. The main benefits are, people improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing.
Why would anyone want to freely distribute his or her source code?
1. The code is peer reviewed and therefore more stable than proprietary code making in more reliable.
2. It allows more people to work on the project.
The open-source community have learned that this rapid evolutionary process produces better software than the traditional closed model, in which only a very few programmers can see source and everybody else must blindly use an opaque block of bits.
Who else does it like this?
The Linux operating system, and the Apache webserver were both developed as open source software.
How does it work?
The software engine is for computer software what the engine is to a car. You create one engine that will run any car you put it into. The software engine works in the same manner. You create a software product and the software engine makes the product work.
How does one commercialize this?
The engine is freely distributed, the content is not necessarily. Anyone can add their proprietary content to the engine. The engine makes it go.
Does Open Source really work?
Yes. Companies like Redhat sell service packs for the Linux operating system. Based on this success other companies like Sony are starting to take advantage of this. Pay for usage software is the direction the software industry is heading as people grow weary of paying for a new version of old software everytime a new feature is added. Due to the tremendous cost of creating a new product as opposed to maintaining it, companies are not forced to rush out a product to create revenue to make up for the drop off of revenue when retail sales of the product start to slump. This model is therefore mutually beneficial to companies, investors and consumers.