Open Source Software

1
Open Source Software

• West-Yorkshire BCS 08-12-2004

2
Setting The Scene

• What open source software is and how it
  originated.
• Why use open source software?
• What sort of tools and applications are available
  
• Future and Threats

3
Open Source Philosophy
The goal of the Free Software Movement is to
enable people to understand, to learn from, to
improve, to adapt, and to share the technology
that increasingly runs every human life (Eben
Moglen,Harvard 2004). Free software is a
matter of liberty and freedom not price. To
understand the concept, you should think of
free as in free speech,or free as in freedom
of choice, not as in free beer. http//www.gnu.
org/philosophy/philosophy.html

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Free software is a matter of the users' freedom

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
  (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the program works, and
  adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the
  source code is a precondition for this.
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can
  help your neighbour (freedom 2).
• The freedom to improve the program, and release
  your improvements to the public, so that the
  whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to
  the source code is a precondition for this.

5
UNIX, Stallman, GNU
1969 Bell labs GE Pull work on Multrix
Bill was part of and benefited from this hacker
community until his 1976 statement
AI Lab at MIT Benefited from cross pollination
Late 1969 Ken Thomson wrote UNIX (Essembler)
(Mythical man Month)
Stallman Joins 1974 Lisp Machine (EMACS)
1970 Dennis Richie C language and UNIX PWB
Sybolics was formed 1981 (commercial venture)
Stallman competed with symbolics until 1983
UNIX scism etc etc
GNU project is Born1984 (GPL comes into being)
1980 Xenix (SCO) 1981 MS Dos
Open Source Army Starts to mass
6
Open Source, LINUX, Torvalds
Andrew Tanenbaum Free University of Amsterdam
Linus Torvalds first intro to UNIX Helsinki
University 1990
Frustrated with limited Resources at the
University
The Amsterdam Compiler Kit
MINIX 1986 PC Hardware
Experimentation with MINIX (fights with
Tanenbaum)
Stallman 1985
1991 GNU project has a full set of tools but
still lacked a stable and complete kernel
September 1991 first official LINUX version 0.01
(GPL 1996)
2004 Has commercial acceptance and challenging
UNIX and Microsoft
Full story to be found in REBEL CODE Linux and
Open Source Revolution
7
Licences

• The licenses for most software are designed to
  take away your freedom to share and change it.
• By contrast, the GNU General Public License (GPL
  Version 2 1991) is intended to guarantee your
  freedom to share and change free software--to
  make sure the software is free for all its users.
  
• This General Public License applies to most of
  the Free Software Foundation's software and to
  any other program whose authors commit to using
  it.
• Some other Free Software Foundation software is
  covered by the GNU Lesser (Library) General
  Public License(LGPL) instead. You can apply it to
  your programs, too.
• http//www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

8
Freedom to Innovate

• The success of any industry is almost directly
  related to the degree of freedom the suppliers
  and the customers both enjoy
• If you have no choice then innovation is limited
• Some comparisons are
• The speed of innovation in the telephone business
  over the last few years to the days when ATT and
  BT had the monopoly
• The speed of innovation of the computer hardware
  business where the fastest innovation in product
  and customer value the world has ever seen is
  currently taking place.
• Compare both of these against the software
  business where commercial of the shelf software
  (COTS) innovation can be measured in decades (the
  intelligent paper clip thats something else
  !!!!!)

9
Removing the Obstacles

• The reluctant take up of Linux was always based
  on a number of Obstacles which may have been true
  in the early days but no longer have much
  substance
• Major applications are not supported
• Open source applications are not full featured
• No vendor support confidence
• Lack in driver support
• You need to be a Guru
• Limited numbers of certified systems admin staff
• You have to throw away what you have already got

10
The Real Inhibitors Today

• In our experience the real inhibitors to Linux
  (open source) acceptance currently is all about
  people psychology. Mostly strengthening one
  another's fears and hidden agendas
• Ignorant or ill informed purse holders/decision
  makers
• The threat of possibly having to learn something
  new or slightly different (this effects all
  levels)
• The stuck in a rut one solution/company/vendor
  techie
• Even worse the stuck in a rut one solution
  company or out source supplier that is vendor
  specific
• The one application/feature missing syndrome
• Some belief that the goal of the open source
  community is to stop companies making money

11
The Competitive Edge

• How did business gain a competitive advantage
  before Computerisation
• unique set of business processes
• always had a set of choices (plan b)
• could change process relatively easily to be
  innovative
• Workforce encouraged to be more entrepreneurial
• Cost effectiveness and value for money was still
  a critical factor
• There was real barter power

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COTS Erosion

• The use of commercial of the shelf software has
  imposed a generic solution on a variant operation
  with the result being
• business process is driven by software features
  (advantage now gained by who has the best spin or
  the best patent portfolio not the best product )
• locked into a definitive set of features
  (entrepreneurship is limited even if encouraged)
• Locked into an upgrade cycle with very little or
  no bartering power (pay up and shut up)
• reduced flexibility, innovations and ability to
  have a good plan b ( no freedom of choice
  lock-in)
• de-skilled technical workforce
• Very low level of green computing

13
Open Source Philosophy

• As expressed open source software can provide a
  counter strategy to COTS with added advantage
• Totally free or very cheap licensing
• Open Code (not everyone sees this as an
  advantage)
• Tailor software to fit business process not vice
  versa
• You do not have to disclose your innovations
• The process handling mechanism of LINUX makes it
  more secure
• Linux has come from server to desktop so multi
  user, multi tasking and networking capabilities
  have not been an add on
• No need to upgrade hardware until ready to do so
• A new and more effective way of software
  development
• The Cathedral and the Bazaar Eric Raymond

14
Some Facts

• 65 of the worlds servers run UNIX/LINUX with
  linux accounting for 26 and growing fast.
• 60 of the worlds web servers are open source
  (apache)
• LINUX is now the second most popular desktop
• Benchmarks show that linux is two and a half
  times faster than other equivalent operating
  systems at the data transport level
• LINUX has niche or large share markets in
• Cluster computing
• The movies
• Embedded systems
• Third world computing
• A word on distros (distributions) and Desktop
  Environments

15
Some Major Applications

• Below is a partial list of some (open source)
  applications that either come free of charge and
  inclusive with most distributions of LINUX or can
  be obtained
• Apache web server, Mozilla web browser
  (firefox)
• Star Office/ Open Office (office suite) Scribus
  (DP)
• SAMBA (Microsoft integration)
• MySQL (very fast relational database) Ingress
  (Full application from CA)
• A full set of compilers for most languages
  including scripting and text formatting
• IPCOP, Smoothwall (security, firewall)
• GIMP (similar to adobe photoshop), Multi-media
  toolset
• TOra (Toolkit for ORACLE)
• http//sourceforge.net
  http//freshmeat.net/

16
Hardware and Service Providers

• Novell bought SUSE and Ximian to boost and
  re-vitalise their NETWARE services (give
  indemnity). Common authentication
• IBM has an open source section with both
  enterprise server and cluster computing
  solutions. Fighting the SCO allegations (also
  give indemnity)
• SUN Microsystems have worked at Star Office to
  make it more compatible with MS office (upgrades
  gone into Open office and vice versa). Brought
  out their own desktop called JAVA desktop (aimed
  at the likes of call centres). Looking Glass
• HP employs a number of open source software
  writers for a variety of tasks (Allison wrote
  SAMBA). HP and Dell are shipping desktop boxes
  with LINUX installed
• Computer Associates (CA) have a full open source
  program

17
Application Developers

• ORACLEs total development platform is now LINUX
• SAGE has ported their products onto LINUX
  (started with line 500)
• Peoplesoft has moved entirely onto a LINUX
  platform and SAP support LINUX
• JBOSS is second generation open source
  development (termed professional open source)
  http//www.jboss.org/products/index
• Code Weavers have produced a product based on
  WINE called cross over office (not free but
  cheap) which allows you to run a large number of
  Microsoft Products native (office all versions,
  media player, photoshop, macromedia etc)
• Mono (open source .net)
• Drivers are now less of a problem

18
Government

• Open source policy document first appeared 2001
  (now up to version2 )
• European Commission has had open source policies
  since the late 1990s
• A recent report has been published by the UK
  Government recognising LINUX as a viable
  alternative to Microsoft
• Many councils have now deployed open source (
  Nottingham council cut its email operating costs
  from 80 PPPY to just 8 )
• Local Government worldwide has opted for open
  source ( most publicised is Munich)
• It is estimated that the Government IT budget is
  close on 16.9 billion a year and the bulk of that
  goes to three American vendors

19
Future and Threats

• Microsoft Gloves are off ( their road show get
  the facts has just run into trouble with the UK
  trading standards commission)
• European software patents (probably the biggest
  threat not only to open source. Ballmer already
  using it as FUD in Europe) http//www.nosoftwarepa
  tents.com/en/m/intro/index.html
• Using LINUX as a threat to Microsoft and never
  carrying it out (recent NHS contract with
  Microsoft)
• It is probably true that LINUX needed the
  credibility of the big players such as IBM,
  Novell, CA, HP to give it the next leap for
  commercial acceptance ( who will end up as
  custodian of the open source philosophy ?)
• Finally computing organisations must do their bit
  to maintain balance and influence Government (
  EDSL is a Microsoft store front)

20
Thankyou for Having Us

• g.coxhead_at_leedsmet.ac.uk
• J.old_at_leedsmet.ac.uk
• http//www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?docid2190finalre
  port (government report)
• http//www.tldp.org/ (linux documentation
  project)