OStatic

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is asking a question that a lot of companies and individuals are evaluating: Could you switch over to being 100 percent open source? Adrian concludes that he could not, although he likes the concept, and a survey he has embedded in his post yields the same answer from almost half of respondents. Should we wish for a world of 100 percent open source software, though?

On Internetnews.com, Christopher Saunders asks if Linux is really necessary for the desktop. He relates a discussion he had with a creative/marketing executive recently, and the doubts that this executive has about the ability of open source alternatives to meet his company's needs.

This conversation goes astray with the word necessary. Is Linux necessary? Is Windows necessary? Perhaps a Mac would do better here? A key point that many open source detractors -- and supporters -- miss is that there doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach to using free software.