By Aaron Huslage
Let's face it, open source software runs the Internet. Without it we wouldn't have basic services like DNS, or even the web server that's sending you this page. This isn't a new phenomenon. People have been writing and distributing OSS software since the Internet was born. I'm always amused when people characterize it as a new-fangled thing. That does a complete disservice to the hard work of folks all over the world, and the phenomenal software they have written.
I've been thinking about what life would be like without open source software. How could you get through much of your daily life without it? Absent open source, Google would not have been able to easily and cost-effectively build a huge cluster of servers to power its search engine. The reason is Linux would not have been free for the company to modify and adapt to its needs. And Google is only one obvious example here. Yahoo runs its entire site on FreeBSD.
The technologies that have powered the most recent expansion of the Internet--Web 2.0 offerings--are fundamentally fueled by open source software. Ruby, Python, Perl, PHP, Linux and mySQL, to name a few, have reduced the costs of starting many kinds of companies to almost nothing. While 10 years ago a company would have had to buy a lot of proprietary software and services, now a good bunch of coders, designers and sysadmins (sometimes the same person) can put something together with freely available tools for very little up-front cash.
It's ironic that the effects of open source software on our economy are largely unmeasured and may be unmeasurable, but suffice to say the effects are enormous. Life without open source software would not only be quite a bit different, but many people would also be quite a bit less wealthy. The business of OSS is booming and will likely continue to drive the great expansion of the Internet and concomitant transformation of society.
Comments
Add CommentBy Allan Leinwand on May. 12, 2008
Good post - I've found that many companies think that they do not use any open source. When I then ask them about their database (mySQL) or their webserver (Apache) or their development tools (git) it is surprising to see them realize how dependent on open source they really are.... And then they start to think about support and licensing issues, but that is for a different post :)
Could not have been put any better. I am not sure how I would survive even a day without the open source tools that I use daily. Surprisingly these very tools have resulted in dramatic changes in the way I work on my computer and my knowledge of the system. The reason could be that they are so comfortable to work with and there never is a feeling of dependency - open source to me is more liberating than ever.
By Joe Brinkman on May. 13, 2008
On the flip side, I have found many software companies willingly donate licenses to OpenSource projects and companies. So even though my company is firmly based on the Microsoft stack without a Linux or MySql server in sight, we have paid pretty close to 0 for all of the licenses we use to run our business.
By Jose_X on May. 14, 2008
>> On the flip side, I have found many software companies willingly donate licenses to OpenSource projects and companies. So even though my company is firmly based on the Microsoft stack without a Linux or MySql server in sight, we have paid pretty close to 0 for all of the licenses we use to run our business.
I'm curious what kind of business you run, and what other connections you have to Monopolysoft. That aside...
Not surprisingly, it seems you think the top benefit of open source is something that is comparable to the misleading $0 cost for a few copies of closed source lock-in software that is explicitly usable solely for building more "open source".
Google and Yahoo would have been dead in the water [a natural wish Monopolysoft harbors towards anyone in any of the markets they set their eyes on.]
I'd have to buy insurance to get protection from tomorrow's price increases when Monopolysoft holds the upper hand once again and decides to cancel the freebies.
I can't fix or extend the Monopolyware as needed by me. It's amazing how much one with modest skills can do for themselves with Google and online tips.. when you have access to the source code. Whole unique business perspectives and opportunities become possible.
I can't reproduce results or audit what I have built if it depends on Monopolyware to run as it obviously does if you run a Monopolyware shop.
I can't change my mind and close off some of the software without having to deal with Monopolysoft license revocation.
I get locked in. I help lock in my family, friends, and associates, many of whom are not getting the freebies.
I help support a fairly ruthless Monopolist that has fewer ethics than a toilet.
Some more thoughts are expressed here: http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=776&blo...
By an anonymous user on May. 14, 2008
Huh? Most of your examples are open standards that happen to have good OSS implementations available but are also available in proprietary software. Further, the early internet was powered almost entirely by commercial platforms like Unix.
I like open source as much as the next guy but a little truth in advertising wouldn't be a bad thing. Or, more novel an idea, let's just talk about the strengths of the software and spend less time trying to prove a new world order or comparing open source software with other software.
open source is a good development model. Sometimes it yields better software than other models. Sometimes it really doesn't. Both are okay. The market will sort out the good and the bad regardless of how they were developed.
By Jose_X on May. 14, 2008
>> Huh? Most of your examples are open standards ...
I am not disagreeing with all you are saying, but...
The discussion is very relevant because most of these things are invisible to most users (it's out in the cloud somewhere), and the article is helping to market what does in fact exist to the surprise of many. As demonstrated in the anecdote of an earlier reply, even businesses underestimate the influence and spread of FOSS, and the average consumer is less aware of FOSS than businesses, having grown up in a world controlled by one proprietary entity and having trivial needs for servers and other backend software.
The author did specify that back then things were much more proprietary. The key isn't whether or not UNIX was used, but that the trend has been from mostly proprietary to now where Linux, BSD, and many FOSS apps are major players. The trend clearly has been to open source regardless of open standards.
Finally, a lot of proprietary products leverage open source. Either the license allows the FOSS to be absorbed into a closed product, the FOSS serves as a reference implementation, or it is used in a supporting but overshadowed (outmarketed) role.
Your truth in advertisement remark is misplaced.
By plh on May. 15, 2008
"...the effects of open source software on our economy are largely unmeasured and may be unmeasurable"
Not at all:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/doc/2006-11-20-flossimpact.pdf
Open source software is much older than the Internet. It is older than the PC:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_IBM#Unbundling_of_software_and_s... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_free_software#Before_1983
By R on May. 15, 2008
Right. Unix was distributed free to thousands of universities and research places, and that continued even when AT&T began selling it. Rather than anon who wrote "the early internet was powered almost entirely by commercial platforms like Unix", much closer to the truth would be "the early internet was powered in large part by freely distributed Unix at research institutions". And Unix was not alone. Some of the other free and open operating systems of the time (yes, for mainframes and minicomputers, and no, not matching current definitions of fully free and open but people worked around it), such as MTS, also contributed significantly.
Good post, Aaron Huslage.
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