THE CHALLENGE OF SUPPORTABLE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE: IS IT REALLY OPEN?

Information sharing has become an important phenomenon in Information Systems, as “Open Source ” software continues to spread. College campuses in the United States and Developing Countries find this particularly attractive, since the cost of technology projects effectively has reduced. However, this implies a willingness to share one’s talents openly. Many software engineers are eager to do so, however, they thus lose their competitive edge. This paper examines the forces leading up to the Open Source era, and what one might expect in the future