Just a few of the myths about about open source are that it is a secret society, you have to be a coder to use it and it's not Windows-friendly.
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Watch Out for Orphans
Open-source software repositories such as sourceforge.net are brimming with promising-looking open-source projects-many of which are no longer actively developed. Check the mailing list archives and source commit logs
As Editor in Chief of eWEEK Labs, Jason Brooks manages the Labs team and is responsible for eWEEK's print edition. Brooks joined eWEEK in 1999, and has covered wireless networking, office productivity suites, mobile devices, Windows, virtualization, and desktops and notebooks. JasonÃÃÃs coverage is currently focused on Linux and Unix operating systems, open-source software and licensing, cloud computing and Software as a Service. Follow Jason on Twitter at jasonbrooks, or reach him by email at jbrooks@eweek.com.