The idea of open source often ignites a critic to note ‘intellectual property’ issues. Dana Blankenhorn discusses the topic in his TheStreet.com post, “Does Open Source Threaten American Software?” In short, Blankenhorn says a resounding ‘no,’ but he also points out that the idea is not widely understood. He has this to say,

Turns out there are two kinds of software. There are tools, which are used to create new software, and there are applications — the programs that actually do things.

Open source mainly works with tools. The Linux operating system, the Eclipse set of programming tools, Apache’s set of web tools, the OpenStack cloud stack. These programs improve everything that runs on them. They make applications easier to write, they make them more secure, they make programmers more productive.

When it comes to making applications, one open source solution worth a second look is LucidWorks. LucidWorks Search is “the simplest and most comprehensive way to access the full power of open source Apache Lucene/Solr” and allows users to “build killer business-critical search apps more quickly and easily.”

Philip West, September 18, 2012

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