Proprietary software is legally developed, owned, and regulated by various companies that withhold the patents and copyrights used to generate the software. Microsoft and Apple are two companies that have implemented many examples of proprietary software, such as Microsoft Windows, Adobe Photoshop, and Mac OS X. However, in recent years these proprietary software companies have started to see a decrease within enterprises, while open source software is beginning to take off. Open source software development allows users to gain public access, is regulated by fewer restrictions, has peer review programs to improve quality, and typically operates with a free price tag.
Even though open source software has a key advantage of being cheaper, proprietary software offers the ease of use. Proprietary systems typically allow users to quickly pick up on the software, therefore decreasing the learning curve. Open source systems, such as UNIX, are becoming user friendly, but still need improve their interfaces to satisfy the needs to the average computer user. Some great benefits to proprietary software are regular updates, technical support, and common interfaces. In an article posted on software.ivertech.com it states that the “Perceived advantages of proprietary software include: 1) Reliable, professional support and training available; 2) Packaged, comprehensive, modular formats; and 3) Regularly and easily updated. The downside however is that it is: 1) Costly, and 2) has closed standards that hinder further development.” Overall, open source software is expected to increase in popularity; however, I believe propriety software companies will remain a user favorite due to a more user-friendly reliable history.
“I Pledge” - KES
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Just to be clear - Mac OS X is proprietary but uses a significant amount of o.s. code. This is a new trend - user licenses which allow a company like Apple to benefit from free contributions and at the same time make a dime on their own pieces.
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