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Open Source - the case against

The document argues that the future of UK higher and further education lies in adopting open source software, despite concerns about its commercial viability and reliability. It critiques the existing education systems for their inefficient use of resources and lack of professional image, pointing out the drawbacks of open source, such as quality control and accountability issues. Despite these concerns, it acknowledges benefits in interoperability and customization within academia but questions the safety and rigor in relying on community-driven solutions.

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The house believes that the future of Web in UK Higher and Further Education communities lies in the adoption of open source software". The Case Against p2…….
What’s wrong with IT in education?  In theory…THE place to be – Complex infrastructures – Maximum variety – Hostile environment – Maximum flexibility – Leading national initiatives
What’s wrong with IT in education?  In practice…”career backwater”  Why? – Image – Not exactly business like – 5 different systems doing same job – Re-invent the wheel – Don’t like commerce
Why don’t we like the Commercial World?  We’re in the public sector!  Jealousy?  Inferiority Complex?  R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-S  S-A-L-E-S species
Commerce v Community  How do we select solutions?  Just think rationally about things for a minute…. – “FE & HE Communities”….but would you let me amend your Student Servers….? – what are you entrusting a £10M, £20M, £50M, £100M public money business to?
Open source community  …development of the Linux operating system by a loose confederation of thousands of programmers--without central project management or control….  ….a movement that has come to be called open source, because it depends on the ability of programmers to freely share their program source code so that others can improve it….
What about our customers ( ‘users’)?  They want – Choice – Reliability – Ease of use – IT as White Goods – Image
And what about image? The image of open source….? Ask Joe Average about Penguins….
Open Source  No control  No quality control  No guarantees  No accountability  Not objective  Not free
Commercial Software  Accountability  Choice  Support  Image
Wake up but don’t smell the Java  Open source has it’s benefits – Within academia – Interoperability & customisation  Would you let your business be dependent on a community? – No safety nets – No rigour – Serious credibility gap