Wow! If open source/content has been around for years (online), how come I'm just finding out about it?

Question

I'm just recently finding out about open software, open textbooks, open education, open music, etc.

dmoz.org has an ENDLESS amount of open source resources of any & all kinds. Have you ever heard of Creative Commons & Copyleft (not copyright)?

A great thing about these is that they don't clog up your computer with viruses, spyware, adware, malware, trojans, worms, etc.

Answer 1

Aggressive marketing by commercial interests is probably the reason. Many companies have discovered that it is easier to increase marketing than to fix problems, including some very severe ones.

At one point a many colleges and universities were writing their own software or using and supporting open source. There was a move at many institutions to adopt training students to use commercial software instead because it would better prepare them for the workplace. Many of the commercial software vendors provided a financial incentive to make this happen.

Glad you found this resource and that you are in independent thinker.

P.S. - not all commercial interests are bad guys, some are strong supporters of open source software.

Answer 2

Hackers like Open Source stuff. It allows them to customize the program to there liking. Its not the open source that prevents viruses. Linux is Open Source but its only secure because of the Administrative passwords.