Group 6 Will Culberson and Ben Henley

1. Group 6 Will Culberson and Ben Henley

2. What is open source? • Open source software is similar in meaning to freeware or shareware. • Open source software is usually available for free, and then you can legally give it away. • The term source in open source refers to computer language source code, such as • Java • C++ • BASIC • Not only do you get the running software, but you get all of the source code behind the running software. • The source is open to the public, and thus the term open source.

3. History • First started in January 1998 due to Netscape’s release of the source code for Navigator. • In February 1998 the Open Source Initiative was formed.

4. Open Source Initiative • Founded February 1998 by Eric S. Raymond and Bruce Perens • Sought to bring a view of the practical benefits of freely available source code. • Perens created the Open Source Definition. • Eric S. Raymond’s essay The Cathedral and the Bazaar gives a model for how open source software should be used.

5. Open Source Definition • Under the Open Source Definition, licenses must meet ten conditions in order to be considered open source licenses. • Free Redistribution: the software can be freely given away or sold. (This was intended to expand sharing and use of the software on a legal basis.) • Source Code: the source code must either be included or freely obtainable. (Without source code, making changes or modifications can be impossible.) • Derived Works: redistribution of modifications must be allowed. (To allow legal sharing and to permit new features or repairs.) • Integrity of The Author's Source Code: licenses may require that modifications are redistributed only as patches. • No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups: no-one can be locked out. • No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor: commercial users cannot be excluded. Distribution of License: The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties. • License Must Not Be Specific to a Product: the program cannot be licensed only as part of a larger distribution. • License Must Not Restrict Other Software: the license cannot insist that any other software it is distributed with must also be open source. • License Must Be Technology-Neutral: no click-wrap licenses or other medium-specific ways of accepting the license must be required.

6. Bazaar Model • Users should be treated as co-developers • The users are treated like co-developers and so they should have access to the source code of the software. If a lot of users view the source code they will eventually find all bugs and suggest how to fix them. • Early Releases • The first version of the software should be released as early as possible so as to increase one's chances of finding co-developers early. • Frequent Integration • New code should be integrated as often as possible so as to avoid the overhead of fixing a large number of bugs at the end of the project life cycle. Some Open Source projects have nightly builds where integration is done automatically on a daily basis. • Several Versions • There should be at least two versions of the software. There should be a buggier version with more features and a more stable version with fewer features. The buggy version (also called the development version) is for users who want the immediate use of the latest features, and are willing to accept the risk of using code that is not yet thoroughly tested. The users can then act as co-developers, reporting bugs and providing bug fixes. The stable version offers the users fewer bugs and fewer features. • High Modularization • The general structure of the software should be modular allowing for parallel development. • Dynamic decision making structure • There is a need for a decision making structure, whether formal or informal, that makes strategic decisions depending on changing user requirements and other factors.

7. Examples • Linux - operating system based on Unix • Eclipse - software framework for "rich-client applications" • Apache - HTTP web server • Tomcat web service - web container • Moodle - course management system • Mozilla Firefox - web browser • Mozilla Thunderbird - e-mail client • OpenOffice.org - office suite • OpenSolaris - Unix Operating System from Sun Microsystems • Mediawiki - wiki server software, the software that runs Wikipedia • Drupal – content management service • GNU Compiler Collection - Programming language compiler for C, C++, Java and other languages.

8. Non-software • Beverages • OpenCola • Soft drink giants like Coke and Pepsi hold their formulas as closely guarded secrets. Now volunteers have posted the recipe for a similar cola drink on the internet. The taste is said to be comparable to that of the standard beverages. • Beer • A beer recipe called Vores Øl. The beer was created by students at the IT-University in Copenhagen together with Superflex, a Copenhagen-based artist collective, to illustrate how open source concepts might be applied outside the digital world. • In 2002 a beer company in Australia, Brewtopia, started an open source brewery which invited the general population to be involved in the development and ownership of the brewery, but asking them to vote on the development of every aspect of their beer, Blowfly, and its road to market. In return for their feedback and input, they received shares in the company, which is now publicly traded on one of the Stock Exchanges in Australia. The company has always adhered to its Open Source roots and is the only beer company in the world that allows the public to design, customize and develop their own beers online.

9. Non-software cont. • Media • Open source journalism • Weblogs, or blogs, are another significant platform for open source culture. • Messageboards • OpenDocument is an open document file format for saving and exchanging editable office documents such as text documents (including memos, reports, and books), spreadsheets, charts, and presentations. • Open source movie production is either an open call system in which a changing crew and cast collaborate in movie production, a system in which the end result is made available for re-use by others. • An open source documentary film has a production process allowing the open contributions of archival material, footage, and other filmic elements, both in unedited and edited form. • Open Source Filmmaking refers to a form of filmmaking that takes a method of idea formation from open source software, but in this case the 'source' for a film maker is raw unedited footage rather than programming code.

10. Positive Outlook • FREE!! • Allows users to build something that works best for them. • With so many people working on the software, bugs are more likely to be worked out. • Available to everyone

11. Negative Outlook • No monetary gain • Companies will be less likely to produce software. • Software will no longer be able to be commercialized.

12. Effects on Businesses • Some businesses are concerned that they will lose businesses with open source products • Businesses will have to discover new ways of making profits, such as providing services that support the open source software • More businesses will be able to offer similar products, which will increase competition in the industry

13. Effects on Consumers and the General Public • As competition increases, consumers will have more bargaining power • Prices of products will decrease as consumers have more choices • Increased freedom will encourage innovation and in return provide better products for consumers