{
  "id": "2003-february-open-source-free-but-worth-the-cost",
  "slug": "2003-february-open-source-free-but-worth-the-cost",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2003-february-open-source-free-but-worth-the-cost.html",
  "year": 2003,
  "month": "February",
  "monthNum": 2,
  "headline": "Open Source: Free, but worth the cost?",
  "kicker": "",
  "author_name": "David Herzog",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "NICAR and Missouri School of Journalism",
  "summary": "Exploration of open-source software in the newsroom, assessing its capabilities for journalism.",
  "keywords": [
    "open-source",
    "software",
    "newsroom"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Technology",
    "Journalism & Newsroom"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "OpenOffice",
    "MySQL",
    "PostgreSQL",
    "GRASS",
    "Mozilla"
  ],
  "full_text": "With newsrooms strapped with tight budgets, free open-source software sounds like a great deal for journalists. But is it? With this issue, Uplink starts exploring that question with a series of road tests designed to see whether these open-source packages meet the demanding needs of computer-assisted reporting. In recent months, the open-source movement has garnered heightened interest with the release of OpenOffice - targeted at users looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office. Also, Lotus Development Corp. founder Mitch Kapor gave the movement a boost when he announced his nonprofit foundation would develop an open-source personal information manager. Under open-source rules, users may download and use the software at no cost. Programmers are encouraged to view and modify the software source code. Proponents say that quickens the pace of software development and, in the end, results in better programs. Already there are scores of open source programs for all kinds of applications. Looking for a geographic information system (GIS)? There's GRASS. Need a structured query language-based database manager? You can use MySQL or PostgreSQL. How about something as simple as a Web browser? You can download Mozilla, based on the Netscape Communicator code released in 1998. With all the choices available, it's tough to know which programs are robust and which are still buggy. We'll give you answers.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "pre-v2",
    "extracted_at": "",
    "verified": true
  },
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  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2003-february-open-source-free-but-worth-the-cost.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2003-february-open-source-free-but-worth-the-cost.json"
}