Talks/FLOSS Overview: Difference between revisions

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<pre>
This talk tries to give a comprehensive overview of free and open source software. The talk is framed in terms of a historical narrative but the focus, in terms of content, tries to focus on the concepts, principles, projects, and people at the heart of free and open source software. 
History


I. Early History
My background is in work on free software projects over 16 years(!) in a variety of projects:


  - printer / AI lab
* [http://www.debian.org Debian]
  - software sharing commune
* [http://www.spi-inc.org Software in the Public Interest]
  - reclaiming movement for freedom
* [http://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu]
* [http://www.fsf.org FSF]


II. Early Structure
=== Early History ===


  - Free Software Definition
* RMS Printer story / MIT AI Lab (familiar to many people)
  - Free Software Doundation
* [http://www.novalis.org/history-of-fsm/slide-24.html Emacs Software Sharing Commune]
  - Copyleft
* Free software was a ''reclaimist'' movement for freedom
  - GPL
  - Strong orientation as social movement
  - GNU Project and Replacement for UNIX


III. Moving Beyond GNU
=== Early Structure ===


  - BSDs, Minix, and the HURD
* [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html Free Software Definition]
  - X Windows and struggles with commericialization and openness
* [http://www.fsf.org Free Software Foundation]
  - Linux Torvalds and Linux
* [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/ Copyleft]
  - Distributions
* [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GPL]
  - Apache Web Server
* Strong orientation as social movement
** Software people are not always great at conveying this, but free
software can be understand as a powerful call for user control over
their own technology
* [http://www.gnu.org GNU Project] and the creation of a replacement for UNIX


IV. Open Source
=== Moving Beyond GNU ===


  - frusteration with free software personality and posturing with
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD BSDs], [http://www.minix3.org/ Minix], and the [http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html GNU HURD]
    business interests and the late 90s tech bubble and dotcom boom
* [http://www.x.org X] and early struggles with commercialization and openness: permissive versus copyleft licensing
  - Eric Raymond and CatB, Bruce Perens
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds Linus Torvalds] and Linux
  - OSD Creation
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution Distributions]
  - Motivations epmhasizing the pragmatic beneifts of ree software
* [http://www.apache.org/ Apache] web server
  - Opposite of a schism


V. Going Mainstream (ups and downs)
=== Open Source ===


  - Breakthrough was with Netscape Navigator releasing code to their
* Open Source is born of frustration with free software personality and its posture with business interests and the late 90s tech bubble and the DotCom boom
    browswer
* [http://opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative] started by [http://catb.org/esr/ Eric Raymond] (author of [http://catb.org/esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/ Cathedral and the Bazaar]),  [http://perens.com/ Bruce Perens] and others
  - Many other companies ended up getting carried away in the boom
* [http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php Open Source Definition]
  - Dotcom bust
* Motivations emphasizing the pragmatic benefits of fee software
  - Remergence of people who care about liberty and freedom
** OS can be seen as a development methodology
    - Social movements again
** "A inherently better way to produce better software"
    - Governments in Europe/S. America/etc.
* "Opposite of a schism"


VI. Adapting FOSS Principles
=== Going Mainstream (ups and downs) ===


  - Many groups have been explicity inspired and have created lots of
* Perhaps the major breakthrough was with Netscape releasing code to their browser in 1998
    other "open source ___" (medicine, invention, literature, music,
* Many other companies ended up getting carried away in the boom (VA
    etc).
Linux (LNUX has single biggest IPO) (Krantz and Henry, 1999)
* Dotcom Bust
* Reemergence of people who care about liberty and freedom (or institutional independence and autonomy)
** Social movements again
** Governments in Europe/S. America/etc.


  - Often inspired by ideas of:
=== Adapting FOSS Principles ===
    - massively parallel production
    - large volunteer communities
    - high levels of "user innovation" and lead user


  - buildings most frequently on licenses of FOSS
* Many groups have been explicitly inspired and have created lots of other "open source ''blanks''" (e.g., medicine, invention, literature, music, etc).
    - copyleft and gpl style legal mechanisms
* Most groups take inspiration from:
  - in some cases, making mroe normatively sort of descriptions and
** Massively parallel production
    calls for free things
** Large volunteer communities
** High levels of "user innovation" and lead users
* Most buildings on ''licenses'' (esp. copyleft) of FOSS but it's important to realize that these are instrumental


VII. What does FOSS production means?
- in some cases, making mroe normatively sort of descriptions and
 
   calls for free things
  - A social movement?
  - An adherence to some conception of openness
  - An attempt to harness certain types of work
   - An attempt to challenge/change the nature of production in a
    depper/more general way


</pre>
=== New Challenges ===
 
* Network services produce a number of important challenges:
** [http://autonomo.us Autonomo.us]
** [http://autonomo.us/2008/07/franklin-street-statement/ Franklin Street Statement]
* Software Patenting
** [http://endsoftwarepatents.org End Software Patents]

Revision as of 14:11, 17 June 2009

This talk tries to give a comprehensive overview of free and open source software. The talk is framed in terms of a historical narrative but the focus, in terms of content, tries to focus on the concepts, principles, projects, and people at the heart of free and open source software.

My background is in work on free software projects over 16 years(!) in a variety of projects:

Early History

Early Structure

software can be understand as a powerful call for user control over their own technology

Moving Beyond GNU

Open Source

  • Open Source is born of frustration with free software personality and its posture with business interests and the late 90s tech bubble and the DotCom boom
  • Open Source Initiative started by Eric Raymond (author of Cathedral and the Bazaar), Bruce Perens and others
  • Open Source Definition
  • Motivations emphasizing the pragmatic benefits of fee software
    • OS can be seen as a development methodology
    • "A inherently better way to produce better software"
  • "Opposite of a schism"

Going Mainstream (ups and downs)

  • Perhaps the major breakthrough was with Netscape releasing code to their browser in 1998
  • Many other companies ended up getting carried away in the boom (VA

Linux (LNUX has single biggest IPO) (Krantz and Henry, 1999)

  • Dotcom Bust
  • Reemergence of people who care about liberty and freedom (or institutional independence and autonomy)
    • Social movements again
    • Governments in Europe/S. America/etc.

Adapting FOSS Principles

  • Many groups have been explicitly inspired and have created lots of other "open source blanks" (e.g., medicine, invention, literature, music, etc).
  • Most groups take inspiration from:
    • Massively parallel production
    • Large volunteer communities
    • High levels of "user innovation" and lead users
  • Most buildings on licenses (esp. copyleft) of FOSS but it's important to realize that these are instrumental

- in some cases, making mroe normatively sort of descriptions and 

 calls for free things

New Challenges

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