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Free/Libre and Open Source Software

Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)

Manitoba's Governing NDP support FLOSS

It is reported by the Prairie Linux User Group (PLUG) that resolution 05-JE-04 Free and Open Source Software passed at the 41st Constitutional Convention of the Manitoba New Democratic Party. The NDP are the governing party in the province of Manitoba.

05-JE-04 Free and Open Source Software

Whereas the free software and Open Source movements offer the possibility of a new form of production based on sharing and community cooperation; and

ZDNET UK: MIT urges Brazil towards Linux

This Reuters article indicates that MIT's Media Lab has told the Brazilian government that 'free software is far better on the dimensions of cost, power and quality' than proprietary offerings

Reading: Code as Design: Three Essays by Jack W. Reeves

As the field of software grows from infancy there are many changes in our understanding that will happen. One of the mistakes of the past which I hope will be soon corrected is the misconception that software should be thought of as similar to hardware, designed/created using similar techniques, or regulated/marketed in similar ways (patents, royalty-based business models, etc).

The essays by Jack W. Reeves touch on many of these themes, and I believe are a good starting point to properly discuss the follow-on public policy and business implications.

IEEE DS Online: Open Source Infrastructure Solidifying Quickly

This article by Greg Goth includes:

Technology industry executives and observers often disagree on the significance of a given development or trend. However, sentiment that the infrastructure supporting open source development is becoming truly “industrial strength” is nearly unanimous.

“We’re near an understanding that we’re approaching an equilibrium point,” says Bob Sutor, IBM’s vice president of standards. “We’re not in a situation where everything is proprietary or everything is going to be open source. There’s a lot of need for both.”

CIP Magazine: It's Raining Code! (Hallelujah?)

This article by Christopher Lindquist discusses the advantages of collaborating on software. While not all the environments discussed are FLOSS as some are structured to require membership to collaborate and use the resulting code, there are still advantages of this form of collaboration over using software from proprietary vendors.

Linux Journal: Linux in Government: Linux System Administrators

This LinuxJournal article by Tom Adelstein includes:

If you're looking to hire a Linux sysadmin, you might need to rethink your hiring guidelines and practices.

...

Converting NT and UNIX system administrators to Linux, however, fails more often than not. Linux system administrators typify a different segment of the population and culture than most trained IT professionals. In general, a Linux system administrator has an easier time working on Microsoft and UNIX operating systems than the other way around.

United Federation of Teachers Gives Lesson in Open Source

This article in eWeek by Joel Shore includes:

"It didn't make sense to us or our investors to pay huge Windows and [[Sun Microsystems Inc.] Solaris license fees and buy expensive support contracts," said Feedster CEO Scott Rafer. "And for the price of a single Oracle license, we got the top-tier MySQL product, direct access to the people who developed it, and a worldwide community ready to help anytime."

The paradox of free/open source project management

This article by Joe Barr includes:

Leaders from three separate but related -- and incredibly successful -- free/open source projects agree: If you want the project to move to the next level, let go and let the community take over. We asked Larry Wall, creator of Perl; Brian Behlendorf, the Apache Project leader; and Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, for their thoughts on why this happens and how they and their projects have fared as a result.

Westmount, Quebec: Free Your Computer! Libérez votre ordinateur!

Free Your Computer! Libérez votre ordinateur!

A Seminar about Free and Open Source Software

Where: the Atwater Library Auditorium (2nd Level), 1200 Atwater Avenue

When: Monday, February 21st, 2005 from 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.

What is Free Software? Open Source? It's email, internet, word processing, spreadsheets, website design, graphic manipulation, presentations, audio, video, operating systems...you can get Free Software for all of these applications. Why don't you try it? This interactive seminar will introduce the hows and whys, and give a brief overview of some of the most popular free software available for your computer. Presented jointly by FACIL-pour l'appropriation collective de l'information libre, and the Atwater Library and Computer Centre.

Vendors Are Punch-Drunk with Linux Love

When I talk to policy makers about new collaborative models for developing public goods (commons-based peer production, Free/Libre and Open Source Software, etc), they act as if I am talking about science fiction. The reality is that these new development models, and the business models that support them, are current and it is government that has simply not been able to keep up-to-date.

For those not paying attention there is an article in eWeek by Lisa Vaas about LinuxWorld that may give some context.

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