Free and Open Source Software and Software Acquisition Cost

by Whitfield, Douglas A

This exploratory study analyzes the attitudes toward Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on the campus on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study focuses primarily on the monetary incentive of FOSS given the unusual set of circumstances in academia, including academic pricing and site licensing. The study finds that listserv surveys are not an adequate way of doing research on the tech community at UNC-Chapel Hill, especially in the arts, humanities and social science departments. Study respondents also indicate there is little inter-departmental social networking that occurs in survey responding. There is also strong incentive to use proprietary software due to site licensing.