Technology isn't cheap. Research and development of computer software takes money, and that's something few starry-eyed startups have when they begin thinking about the ones, zeros and dollar signs of the future. Open source programs -- basic computer software that can be changed and manipulated by the user -- help many technology companies get their products and services out of the basement and into office computers around the country. In Central Pennsylvania, up-and-coming tech companies are using open source programs such as Linux, PHP, Gentoo and MySQL to build future business applications.
May 09th 2007