Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing a series of posts on “Why Churches should use Open Source”.  Before I start though, I probably should explain what Free or Open Source Software is.
As you are reading this you are using a program called a web browser that reads the file containing these words.  Most of you are probably using a program called Internet Explorer that comes packaged with Microsoft Windows, you might not even realize that there are other programs that do the same thing.  Others might be using another browser called Firefox.
To make these browsers, a team of programmers wrote instructions that were compiled into the program that you run when you click on the icon.  Free or Open Source software is software that lets you have access to the original instructions.  Internet Explorer is closed, meaning you can’t see those instructions.  Firefox on the other hand is open, meaning you have access to the Source Code.  (The code is here if you are interested)
Most folks will never look at this, but there are very useful reasons for having it available.  It can be adapted to different uses, it can be used as long as there is an interest and the users have more of a say in how it works.
Related to this, and probably more directly relevant to most people, is the idea of open formats.  Back to the example of reading this page.  The file you are reading is an .html file, you can see the source file that tells the browser how to display this page. (Press Ctrl+U in Firefox, I think there is a View Source option in Explorer when you right click on the page)
When you write a letter, or copy music from a CD or download a movie, that information is stored in a file.  The file can be different formats.  Like programs, some Formats are open, some are proprietary or closed.  Closed formats means you limit your access to your information.
Two examples show the problems with closed formats:
I had a minister give me some disks with several of his sermons on them.  They were older files and when I tried to open them in my computer I couldn’t access them.  The format that his sermons were stored in were obsolete.  I couldn’t convert them or open them in any way.  If the files had been in an open format those files would have been recoverable.
The other example, previously I used a notebook type program for storing my research notes in called OneNote.  It was a neat program that integrated well with Microsoft Office.  The problem was all of the information was stored a propriety format that made it very difficult to move the notes into anything other than Microsoft programs.  I realized that I was going to have several years of intense research locked into one format that was completely controlled by Microsoft.  What if they decided the program was not profitable and stopped supporting it?  What if I got a new computer, would I have to buy a new version of Onenote to run on Vista?  I decided I didn’t want to store my information in a format that required me to purchase a product that was only available from one vendor in order to access it.
Although using open programs and formats isn’t a life and death matter, I think there are some good reasons people, and especially Churches should use these tools which I’ll be writing about in the weeks to come.