Open source is everywhere, but so is the risk of adopting a dead-end project for critical business needs It’s hard to imagine a company these days that isn’t using open source software somewhere, whether it’s Linux running a company’s print and web servers, the Firefox browser on user desktops, or the Android operating system on mobile devices. In, fact, there are now more than a million different open source projects, according to Black Duck Software, a maker of open source management tools and owner of the Ohloh open source software directory. And open source continues to grow. According to an SAP research report, the number of open source projects roughly doubles every 14 months. [ InfoWorld dishes on must-have iPad office apps, essential Android productivity apps, and road warrior standbys. Start downloading! | Get the latest insight on the tech news that matters from InfoWorld’s Tech Watch blog. ] But not all open source projects are created equal. According to Ohloh, for the 100,375 projects for which activity information is available, around 80 percent were listed as having low activity, very low activity or were completely inactive. Already an Insider? Sign in Open Source