Open Source vs. Proprietary Software; which is better?

Question

Which of the two do you believe is more important and why?

Answer 1

Completely depends upon situation. Let me explain.

For public stuff, I'm a big fan of open source. It allows you to learn, contribute to it, have others contribute, form a unity between the community for it, and so many amazing things come from open source projects. It's amazing how we can work together as humans when we try.

However, lets say you own a company, you'll want your software to be isolated to your company and no one else. Make it proprietary software in that case because you don't want others to use, know, or understand your program.

As well, if you're planning to SELL software, then you don't want that software to be open source.

Hope that helps. It's all important, and should be assessed.

Answer 2

open source for life.
reasons:
1. better security. compared to proprietary software the number of people checking the software for bugs is more than a handful compared to closed.
2. better support. open source is available for nearly every hardware.
3.more customization(various flavors & features to the base software see different flavors OS's of linux,etc.)
4.nearly no cost compared to closed source ( windows vs linux)
5. no spyware. you can be sure and even check the code for shady stuff (can can't do the same and be sure for other closed OS's or applications).
6.free ecosystem of enthusiasts working to make the product better(linux, vim, neovim, etc.). 7.generally not tied to any company or corporation(chrome & Android are indirectly tied to a giant corporation can be considered exceptions to the rule).