Where to go to try out some open source software

by Stuart Yeates on 1 December 2004 , last updated

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Introduction

So you’ve heard about open source software and you want to give it a try. Where do you go to get started? If you are reading this document on the Internet, then you are using open source software already.* But where else might you go to try out some open source software?

Use it on someone else’s server
Most of us use open source software without knowing about it. When you type www.slashdot.org, www.lse.ac.uk or www.unesco.org into your web browser, some open source DNS software called BIND is used to locate the computer you require out of the millions of others on the Internet. Very likely an open source web server called Apache is then used to send the web page requested back to your browser. Similarly, many large organisations run their mail systems using open source mail transport agents such as Postfix and Exim. Since open source software tends to use open standards the systems running open source software seamlessly interoperate with all operating systems and most applications. This interoperability is often completely invisible to the end user. If you are reading this document online, you are already interacting with open source software.*
Get it with your hardware
Many pieces of hardware, particularly networking hardware such as firewalls and gateways, come with the Linux operating system. A customised version of Linux called embedded Linux runs many smaller appliances from mobile phones and routers to microwave links. Users don’t notice the use of Linux and may not even be aware that the hardware has an operating system. By reusing the operating system in a large number of devices the time and cost of developing a new device is reduced. This is often called the secondary software sector because the software is secondary to the product’s purpose and its technical details are irrelevant to the end user.
Get it with your proprietary software
A surprising amount of the software that people buy or license contains open source software within it. This can be exactly the same software as is used in fully open source systems. The MacOS X operating system, for example, is built on top of the open source BSD UNIX operating system.
Get a LiveCD
LiveCDs are complete systems that run directly from a CDROM without touching a computer’s hard drive. They provide a low risk sampler, but because all data is lost at every reboot they are typically unsuitable for production systems. LiveCDs include KNOPPIX, Mandriva Move and FreeSBIE, which are based on the Debian, Mandriva and FreeBSD operating systems respectively.
Get applications on disc
There are many open source applications that can be obtained on CD or DVD, for your existing operating system. The OpenDisc is a DVD containing popular open source desktop software for Microsoft Windows.
Get applications from the Internet
Getting applications from the Internet is slightly more challenging than getting them from a CD, due to the added complexity of downloading the application and the risk of dealing with potentially untrusted web sites. This is the standard method of getting new and updated applications for Linux distributions such as Debian, RedHat and Mandriva, and is a very common way of getting tools and utilities for Microsoft Windows. It is also an excellent way to get the latest versions of Mozilla’s popular open source web browser and email client, Firefox and Thunderbird.
Get an operating system on CD
Installing a new operating system is not for the faint-hearted because it often involves repartitioning or reformatting your hard disk. It is advisable to ensure that all data is backed up first. The standard method of installing most Linux distributions is to install from CD.
Get an operating system from the Internet
Installing a new operating system from the Internet is more challenging than installing from a CD because if the task is interrupted or fails it can leave the machine unable to reconnect to the Internet to continue. This is the standard method of updating Linux distributions.
Compile your own from source
Open source software is available as source code from many different web sites. Compiling software from source code is only recommended for those with a technical background. The Gentoo Linux distribution uses this method as standard.
Compile your own from source obtained from version control
Developers use version control systems to track the individual changes made to the the source code. Checking the source out from the developers’ version control system means that you get software as up-to-date as that obtained by the developers. This is the definitive bleeding edge code, but frequently has serious (although usually transient) problems. Only developers or seriously committed deployers with local developer skills should normally compile from version control.

Practicality normally dictates where you get your software from. Widely used open source software is typically available in a wide variety of ways. By its re-distributable nature, users quickly re-package it into convenient forms for themselves and others. Less widely used software is typically only available in one or two ways.

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