Kilinc 1

Ali Kilinc

SPC191: Fundamentals of Speech - Thursday 6:00PM-10:20PM (30386)

Dr. Penny Wadell

February 6, 2009

Persuasion Speech

Open-Source: Now is the Time!

Attention Step

(Make eye contact with everyone in the room, and then pause for a few seconds)

COMPUTERS! Computers, computers, computers… Think for a few moments if the life you

live right now could be possible without computers… It could not. The bread you eat is cooked

with computer controlled ovens, and the light that stops you before you get to Wal-Mart, has a

computer in the pole. Even to run away from all that technology and go camping, you have to

interact with computers. How? You need to fill up your gas tank from a pump controlled by

computers!

(Start slides) As we already know, we need computers. What we also need is the software

to run those computers. As Bill Gates once said, “Computers are useless without a language”

(“Pirates…” 1). Now I’d like to show you a video demonstrating this. (Move to slide 2 which

then moves to slide 3: plays video showing Bill Gates interviewing Altair to increase licensing

fees.) Bill Gates was able to double Microsoft’s income just by “asking”, because Altair needed

that software. Therein lies the problem, because most software in the market is proprietary,

meaning you have to pay for a license to use it. What we all need to know is that there are

adequate, free, and open-source alternatives to those paid softwares.

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The reason why I am the perfectly credible person to speak about this topic is because my

major is based on open-source software. I have also been using Linux products for many years,

and use computers with open-source software installed on them on a daily basis.

In consideration of those unaware of the different types of software, I will like to give a

crash course. (Move to slide 4) There are three main types of software: proprietary, open-source,

and hybrid. Due to time constraints and irrelevance, (Click to drop hybrid, focus on the other

two) we will not be discussing hybrid source. Instead, we will be focusing on proprietary and

open-source. Put simply, (Move to slide 5) proprietary is paid, and open-source is free. To give

insight on the importance of open-source software, first I will explain the problem of proprietary

software in the industry, then I will explain the benefits of open-source software, and finally, I

will explain what kind of a world we could live in if more companies and individuals adopted

more free and open-source software solutions.

Description of the Problem (Need)

There are many downsides of using proprietary software. For the sake of time, we will

not discuss the obvious benefits. First of all, if one uses proprietary software, one is always at the

mercy of one, sole, software producer. According to Riley, this leads to extremely high initial

start-up costs (“Bohams to migrate…” 1). On top of that, the software is rarely updated, and the

program is less secure because of this. Proprietary software is also harder to develop and

implement. One obvious downside can be seen for small business system builders. A tiny

computers store cannot afford to put dozens of paid applications on a new system; if they did,

they would not be able to make money. That kind of software is also almost impossible to

develop for because the source “code” of the program, as in, the stuff that runs it, is “closed,”

meaning nothing goes in, nothing goes out, and nothing is added. For the business side of things,

many downsides can be seen because the “closed” source scheme could hinder development due
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to companies that do not “share” their programs. According to Kilinc, the biggest downside of

using paid, proprietary software is the licensing model (Kilinc 2). Furthermore, some programs

require yearly licensing, something that could annoy business owners and make them feel

“used”.

Proposed Solution (Satisfaction)

Now that we’ve have seem some of the bad sides of using paid software, let us take a

look at the good sides of using free software. There are many benefits to using open-source

software. The first thing to know is that it should always be considered and preferred when

switching to a new system. According to Riley, it requires fewer infrastructures for businesses

switching entire systems to open-source (“Open source given…” 1). This could mean: fewer

servers, fewer application providers, fewer IT staff, and things of that nature. It’s also easier to

use in many other aspects. Mainly because you can download and install any type of software,

when you need it, download as much as you need to, and use it as often as you need to.

Furthermore, there is no sense of “lifetime” commitment. On the one hand, if you make a

presentation in Microsoft’s PowerPoint 2007, only PowerPoint 2007 will be able to open, or

modify that file. The same rules apply to most proprietary programs. If the software vendors do

not do this, you might not be so inclined to pay for the same program again and again. On the

other hand, we can see that this rule does not apply to open-source software. Many open-source

applications try to integrate with many vendors in compliance with “open standards.” For them,

it’s a positive thing to integrate with all your other applications.

The most obvious benefit from using open-source is that it is free. Not only is it free, but

there is no license to buy! Some of the basic principles of open-source clearly state that (Move to

slide 6): it’s free to copy and redistribute, it’s free to modify and edit, the license is freely
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distributed, and that the author’s integrity and copyright are never diminished. With all this in

mind, Kilinc says it’s also easier to implement due to the “zero” cost (Kilinc 2).

There are also many real world causes of using open-source software. For example,

schools benefit from using free software. Student can benefit because there is mutual as well as

collaborative learning. The applications can be tuned to student’s needs since it is “open” for

adjustment; leading users modify programs themselves (Lin, Yu-Wei and Zini, Enrico 2). In a

study published on Business Wire, it was found that ignoring open-source can be devastating to

businesses because it could damages their licensing schemes (Schneider 1). Also, it’s harder for a

company to budget for long term if they do not use open-source because of legal issues regarding

intellectual property.

Finally, one can see that open-source or free programs are not “weak” and “ugly”

compared to their rivals. (Move to slide 7) This is because there are so many people working on

open-source applications not to make money, but to have a better user experience. This leads to

quality programs that give their rivals a run for their money. A few simple examples prove that

free software is very similar in use compared to closed source counterparts (Move to slide 8)

First we can see that gOS is very similar to the Mac OS X that Apple touts every 5 seconds for

their “awesome” Macs. The gOS is one hundred percent free, and can be installed on virtually

any computer. (Move to slide 9) Then we take a look at Knoppix, which is very similar to

Windows XP, and yet, it does not cost hundreds of dollars. (Move to slide 10) Finally, we take a

look at OpenOffice.org. Anyone who works in an office can attest to the need of a productivity

suite. When we compare OpenOffice to the very expensive Microsoft Office 2003 we find little

to no differences.

Visualization of Results
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We’ve seen the negatives of paid software, and we’ve seen the positives of free software.

Now, let us take a look at how our world would be if we used more free software. Mainly, we

would have better computers over-all through the use of more open-source software. Moreover,

the zero cost of open-source would lead to cheaper computer, and that would lead to more

computers in developing countries. Many countries in Africa would be able to provide computers

for their schools. The dying children would be educated, and would not have to live that horrible

life anymore. Their education brought on through open-sourced based computers would open

many doors for them, leading to better jobs, then better lives, and overall prosperity.

(Move to slide 11) Another big bonus we could see if more users adopted open-source,

would be the elimination of licensing issues. On the one hand, we look at someone who copies

proprietary software. He breaks the law and when he copies a paid program, and “shares” it he

commits (Pause, then move to slide 12)… piracy! Piracy is a very bad thing because it can leads

to lawsuits, heavy fines, and ultimately remorseless people. So in the end, the developer is

unhappy because people are stealing his work, the publisher is unhappy because he is not making

any money, and the pirate is unremorseful regardless. There are only negative associated with

this scenario. On the other hand, when we look at someone who copies open-source software,

and “distributes” it… he makes (Pause, then move to slide 13)… everyone happy! Why is

everyone happy? Who is everyone? Everyone includes: the developer, because people are

benefiting from the fruits of his kindness; the publisher, he is happy because his market share is

bigger now that someone else is using his software; and the user, he is happy because he found a

free alternative to piracy, which led him to be one-hundred percent guilt-free because there was

never any chance for him to feel guilty. There are only positives when we observe this scenario.

Appeal to Action
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I hope you now have some insight on the world of paid and free software. In conclusion,

I’d like to finish up by going over some of the things we discussed and by sharing a few

shocking truths. First we went over the problems associated with proprietary software. Then we

discussed the benefits of open-source software. Finally, I explained how benefitting from open-

source software would change our lives, since every single aspect of our life is affected by

computers.

I hope now you can understand that open-source software is pretty amazing. I showed

you a few pictures earlier comparing expensive software versus free software. After the

presentation, you will each receive one of those full operating systems. It is similar to the Mac

OS, and is called gOS (as well as a brochure to go with it). It stands for “good operating system.”

gOS is completely, 100% legally free. I downloaded and burned over twenty copies onto CDs

myself, and I feel great about it.

I would like each and every one of you to at least try the software. You might think,

“How will I do that? I’ve never installed an operating system. I’m scared.” If you’re afraid of

installing it on your computer, don’t. gOS, like many other Linux distributions, is a “live CD”,

meaning that you don’t need to install it to use it, just pop it into your computer and boot from

the CD. From there, you use the entire system from the disk: the free office suites as well as the

hundreds of internet tools that are on there. I hope that doing that… will “open the window”

(Make hand gesture opening a window) to a new world of free (Pause, then smack hands

together, and point to center) and “open-source” software.

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Works Cited

AUTHOR[S]/NAME[S] = LINK TO ARTICLE/PAPER/SITE

Kilinc, Mehmet. Personal interview. 24 Feb. 2009.

Lin, Yu-Wei and Zini, Enrico. “Free/libre open source software implementation in schools:

Evidence from the field and implications for the future.” Computers & Education 50.3

(2008): 1-2. Education Resources Information Center. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.

“Pirates of Silicon Valley - Bill Gates negotiates with Altair.” YouTube. YouTube. 13 Jan. 2009.

Web. 3 Mar. 2009.

Riley, John. “Bonhams to migrate to open source.” ComputerWeekly.com. Reed Business

Information, 10, 27 Sep. 2005. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.

Riley, John. “Open source given the thumbs up as viable alternative by Whitehall.”

ComputerWeekly.com. Reed Business Information, 10, 28 June 2005. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.

Schneider, Martin. “The 451 Group: Ignoring Open Source May Expose Enterprise Software

Vendors to Significant Risk and Result in Missed Opportunities.” Business

Wire. Business Wire, 8 Dec. 2005. Web. 3 Mar. 2009.