Open Source Myth Busters

By Elizabeth Millard. The reality behind seven commonly held beliefs about open source and what direction they’ll take your institution.
The Myth: If you use open source, you’re on your own.
The Reality: At Indiana State University, where open source is used for mobile application development, administrators recently launched an app with the help of Modo Labs, which offers mobile solutions and support services based on the Kurogo open source mobile platform. The project has gone so well, officials are looking at open source for development of a content management system, as well as creation of “sandboxes” for students who want to develop their own apps. Santhana Naidu, web services director at ISU, notes that his first experience with open source was 10 years ago, when he was using the Linux open source platform. Then, if he had an issue with the code, he’d have to post a question on online support forums and read through opinions culled from around the world. “That was the experience of many people using open source back then,” he says. “Unfortunately, there’s a belief that it’s still that way. But these days, there are so many companies, like Modo, that provide comprehensive support.” Read more...