1.2. The History and Future of Open Source
Format
- Read or listen to podcast, watch video and read content on this topic
Prerequisites
- Have completed previous chapters in this module
- Free Software Foundation
- The Mozilla Story: Making The World You Want
- Into the Future!
- Assignment: Quiz
- Credits
Free Software Foundation
In the early 1980’s Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation: a socio-technological movement that revolutionized the software world. Stallman and Tim O’Reilly – a pioneer of Open Source – tell the story. [1]
Listen to this Podcast, or read the transcript (both linked on page) of Tim O’Reilly’s interview with Richard Stallman.
The Mozilla Story: Making The World You Want
Not that long ago, a single company (Microsoft) controlled the majority of software and hardware, ‘open’ was something mostly associated with ‘basement hackers’, and an open source business model was considered laughable.
Enter Mozilla Firefox 1.0.
Mozilla injected competition, innovation and opportunity by opening the source code for Netscape. One of the most compelling stories of Firefox 1.0 is this front page in the New York Times paid for by contributors (their names are listed in the ad).
- Watch this video interview with Mozilla Chairwoman Mitchell Baker, and former Mozilla CEO Chris Lily as they revisit that time - and how it changed everything.
Into the Future!
Don Marti explains in his blog post ‘Why Open Source Matters’ what he sees as the 3 movements of Open Source (explained with quotes), and insists that anyone “trying to sell you on joining “open source” is selling a different combination of these”.
Software development methodology
“In short, the effect on security of open source software is still a major debate in the security community, though a large number of prominent experts believe that it has great potential to be more secure.” - David A. Wheeler
Opportunity: Building software we can be proud of Fail: Software Quality
Internet freedom campaign
“My free software will respect users or it will be bullshit” — Matthew Garrett
Opportunity: Build the power structures you want Fail: Diversity and inclusion
Economic movement
“Linux Foundation certifications give you a way to differentiate yourself in a job market that’s hungry for your skills.” — Linux Foundation
Opportunity: Hiring, discoverability and incentivization Fail: Compensation and burnout
Assignment: Quiz
Take a few minutes in your group, or individually on paper or digital format to answer these questions.
- According to Richard Stallman, what is the distinction between ‘open source’ and ‘free software’ and what was Linus Benedict Torvalds, and Linux’s role in triggering these terms?
- How is the story of Google Android a story of open source, and not free software? (according to Stallman)
- What is Tim O’Reilly’s argument about morality and software licensing?
- How did opening the source code enable the success of Firefox in a market dominated by Microsoft?
- Think about the 3 internet movements, how do they apply to you and your goals for open source?
Credits
- [1]Richard Stallman and The History of Free Software and Open Source
- [2] Why Open Source Matters - Don Marti