Why Not Open Source Software?
In an essay elsewhere in this journal Michael Clark poses the following question: “…There is a common misperception in the academic world among students and even those with Ph.D.s that if something is free in the software world it is not as good. This is very odd considering how many things we regularly receive free in daily life such as love from family members, meals provided by friends, books etc. from libraries, countless commonly used applications for computers and web-browsing, additional services if certain other conditions are met and so on. If a friend offers a ride to the airport, have you ever heard of someone responding that they’d rather take a cab because it’s obviously better based on price?” I too have encountered the same attitude regarding open source software, but I think the avoidance of such software goes beyond this attitude, even when the availability of the software and support for it are readily available. I’d say the most people are not willing to pay the ti
