Open source vs Proprietary software

"Open source refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design free of charge." [1]

While, "Proprietary software refers to any computer software that has restrictions on any combination of the usage, modification, copying or distributing modified versions of the software." [2]

[1] "What is open source?" Webopedia, http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/open_source.html (accessed Oct. 02, 2012).
[2] "What is Proprietary software?" Webopedia, http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/proprietary_software.html (accessed Oct. 02, 2012).

Use two encyclopedias, Britannica and Wikipedia as examples, Britannica has entry barriers which the articles can be edited by experts only; while all of Wikipedia's articles can be edited by anyone without special requirements. Therefore, Britannica is a proprietary software and Wikipedia is an open source. The difference between them is the legal protection. The proprietary software is protected by the law which opposed of the open source. That's why it also called closed source because the source of this software cannot be modified.

With less restrictions, people more enthusiastic about open source resources. Compare with Britannica, the wordings are much difficult to understand as the articles are written by the experts and they used some specific wordings while the wordings in Wikipedia are more straightforward. It is because the wordings of Wikipedia's articles can be modified by anyone.

Moreover, Wikipedia is more user-friendly. Many topics in Wikipedia are provided Chinese and English version and even other languages version as the articles are edited by different nation people. Sometimes when the concept is difficult to understand, people can switch to the Chinese version and get the meaning directly and quickly. Also, it provides hyperlinking, especially for the specific wordings. You can just click the word to get the meaning quickly instead of searching the word again in the search engine. The validity of articles in Wikipedia are support by some academic documentary as there are many footnotes and references in the articles, although anyone can edit it. It is still have some credibility for people enthusiastic on it.