In just the last few years, open-source software has become a major force in the technology industry. Open-source applications play a key role in the server industry, are greeted eagerly in the wireless and electronic appliance sectors, and have formed an early beachhead on the desktop. But now, as open-source software enters a growth period that some liken to its adolescence, it faces a number of challenges, including legal snarls and stiff resistance from proprietary-software companies. What do the years ahead hold for this nascent, but quite promising, software model?
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The open-source development process "is only going to get stronger," Eben Moglen, Columbia University law professor and Free Software Foundation general counsel, told NewsFactor. "The reason is, it produces high quality goods at an unbeatably low price." Moglen argues that "because the technology of communication makes all the minds on the planet theoretically and practically available for innovation," the open-source model -- by allowing innovation by anyone -- "is the 21st-century structure for technical innovation."
News source: NewsFactor
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