Comparison of Proprietary Software and Open Source Software Case Study: Uganda Dot Net
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Date
2009-10
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Kampala International University, School of Computing and Information Technology
Abstract
Proprietary software are programs whose licenses give the user permission to run them but are not allowed to share, alter or even redistribute them while Open Source Software/Free Software (OSS/FS), also abbreviated as FOSS (Free Open Source Software) licenses give users the freedom to run the program for any purpose, study, modify, and redistribute copies of either the original or modified program without having to pay royalties to previous developers. Proprietary software has been the most commonly used software among the public over the years though with the growth of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) industry, FOSS is a rapidly growing and commercially accepted alternative to proprietary software in the world. In Uganda, Proprietary software is the mostly used though FOSS is winning several users too, but most users do not purchase licenses for these software products and have little or no information about benefits or challenges of using either software. This research aims at correcting this problem by providing quantitative and qualitative results that users can use to compare software and thereby purchase appropriate programs for their organizations. Therefore the choice of OSS/FOSS and proprietary software is an issue whose importance cannot be ignored. Our research reveals that OSS/FOSS and proprietary performances depend on the context and situation. When it comes to this parameter, it is hard for one to conclusively say that FOSS or proprietary software is better. The research, however, reveals that FOSS is more reliable and more secure than the proprietary software.
Description
A Project Report Submitted to The School of Computer Studies in Partial Fulfillment for The Award of a Diploma in Computer Science of Kampala International University October 2009
Keywords
Open Source Software