Organised by the Forum for Open Source Initiatives in India (FOSII), the event aimed at promoting open source or freely available technology as a fair, efficient and cheaper technology of the future. The annual event, which concluded in Delhi on Friday, was held in Mumbai and Bangalore earlier this week.

Previously known as LinuxAsia, this is the fifth edition of the event. “Over 30,000 copies of Linux operating system are created every day in the world. And, no one owns Linux, which is an open source operating system (OS),” says Klaus Knopper, creator of Knoppix, a Linux software designed to be run from a CD.

Linux is an alternative to proprietary operating systems like Windows or Macintosh. Experts say features of Linux can be modified or even be solved, which is not possible on proprietary software where the codes are inaccessible.

“This is just like a car: would you be able to repair it if someone locked its motor and kept the keys?” says Varad Gupta from Keenable, an open source training company.

“In open source software, the motor also is not locked…” he says.

As most computer users are software developers, they need professionals to help them customise the products they get for free. The open source market starts from here. “I prefer paying money for services and support that make my software better rather than spending money in the license of a product that won’t make it better,” Knopper, who is also an information technology consultant, says.

And, Microsoft, the producer of proprietary software, too had its say at the event. “If customers want open source, we will give them open source,” says Ravi Sankar, a Microsoft engineer.

“Microsoft collaborates with open source developers like Novell to produce Windows-friendly open source software. Bill Gates creation proposes Virtual Console, a software allowing users to launch other OS simultaneously with Windows,” Ravi says.