eBook Open Sources 2.0: the continuing evolution ePub

The work of open source is hardly finished, and it makes sense for a new version of the book, in which more of the model of development of software is laid out; it is sometimes hard to read, but once in the mind, it is hard to forget, nor should one.

This collection of essays on the open source movement could be called a second edition to the book "Open Sources: Voices from the Revolution" that was published in 1999. That book spent much space trying to argue that the open source movement was legitimate and here to stay. That argument has long since been settled, so this book takes up the current and future trends of the open source movement. The essays can be read in any order, and depending on your expertise, some may not be of any real interest to you- for example the open source biology essay might not be valuable to someone interested in network security. However, all essays are written to be accessible to a wide audience in spite of that fact. For example, I have no background in biology whatsoever, but I still found the essay on open source biology an understandable and interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the essay on the open source paradigm shift by Tim O'Reilly. His premise is that free and open source developers are in much the same position today that IBM was in 1981 when it changed the rules of the computer industry, but failed to understand the consequences of the change. This allowed others, Microsoft in particular, to reap the benefits. O'Reilly concludes that existing proprietary software vendors are no better off, playing by the old rules while the new rules are reshaping the industry around them. Another favorite of mine was on the commoditization of software in which it is explained that this process has been driven by standards, in particular by the rise of communications-oriented systems such as the Internet, which depend on shared protocols, and define the interfaces and datatypes shared between cooperating components instead of those components' internals. There are also two fascinating essays on the open source movement in China and India, neither of which was really a factor when the first edition of this book was published six years ago. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in where technology might be headed in the future, not just those who are employed in the tech industry. I notice that nothing about the contents of the book is currently shown by Amazon, so I show the table of contents here for the purpose of completeness:
The list of essays are:
1. The Mozilla Project: Past and Future by Mitchell Baker
2. Open Source and Proprietary Software Development by Chris DiBona
3. A Tale of Two Standards by Jeremy Allison
4. Open Source and Security by Ben Laurie
5. Dual Licensing by Michael Olson
6. Open Source and the Commoditization of Software by Ian Murdock
7. Open Source and the Commodity Urge: Disruptive Models for a Disruptive Development Process by Matthew N. Asay
8. Under the Hood: Open Source and Open Standards Business Models in Context by Stephen R. Walli
9. Open Source and the Small Entrepreneur by Russ Nelson
10. Why Open Source Needs Copyright Politics by Wendy Seltzer
11. Libre Software in Europe by Jesus M. Gonzalez-BarahonaGregorio Robles
12. OSS in India by Alolita Sharma and Robert Adkins
13. When China Dances with OSS by Boon-Lock Yeo, Louisa Liu, and Sunil Saxena
14. How Much Freedom Do You Want? by Bruno Souza
15. Making a New World by Doc Searls
16. The Open Source Paradigm Shift by Tim O'Reilly
17. Extending Open Source Principles Beyond Software Development
by Pamela Jones
18. Open Source Biology by Andrew Hessel
19. Everything Is Known by Eugene Kim
20. The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir by Larry Sanger
21. Open Beyond Software by Sonali K. Shah
22. Patterns of Governance in Open Source by Steven Weber
23. Communicating Many to Many by Jeff Bates and Mark Stone
Appendixes :
A. The Open Source Definition
B. Referenced Open Source Licenses
C. Columns from Slashdot

Open Source Software (OSS) has radically redefined the landscape of the software industry and the Information Technology field. As much a mindset as a methodology, there are many elements of OSS that draw some of the deepest thinkers of our field. You can find some of those essays in the book Open Sources 2.0 - The Continuing Evolution, edited by Chris DiBona, Danese Cooper, and Mark Stone. There's a little something here for everyone...

Contents:

Part 1 - Open Source - Competition and Evolution: The Mozilla Project - Past and Future; Open Source and Proprietary Software Development; A Tale of Two Standards; Open Source and Security; Dual Licensing; Open Source and the Commoditization of Software; Open Source and the Commodity Urge - Disruptive Models for a Disruptive Development Process; Under the Hood - Open Source and Open Standards Business Models in Context; Open Source and the Small Entrepreneur; Why Open Source Needs Copyright Policies; Libre Software in Europe; OSS in India; When China Dances with OSS; How Much Freedom Do You Want?

Part 2 - Beyond Open Source - Collaboration and Community: Making a New World; The Open Source Paradigm Shift; Extending Open Source Principles Beyond Software Development; Open Source Biology; Everything Is Known; The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia - A Memoir; Open Beyond Software; Patterns of Governance in Open Source; Communicating Many to Many

Part 3 - Appendixes: The Open Source Definition; Referenced Open Source Licenses; Columns from Slashdot; Index

As with all compilations from various writers and authors, it's not possible to have all the articles flow with the same voice and pace. And really, they shouldn't. You're looking to get a wide array of opinions and insights, not a blended mind dump from a single writer. Conversely, you'll find that some of the articles resonate with you, and others have you moving into scan mode to get to the next one. If you keep that in mind as you're working through the book, you'll get a lot more out of it.

For me, there were two areas that were enjoyable and valuable. The story of how Wikipedia went through growing pains and worked through rules and culture was interesting. Likewise, the story of Slashdot and how it got to what it is today is insightful. I still don't care for the site, but you can't argue it's effect in the technology world. The most thought-provoking essays for me revolved around the commoditization of software. Coupled with a different book I recently finished, I realize that certain software vendors are in a very precarious position, and they are following the same path that has led others to destruction as they attempt to hold on to what doesn't work any more. Those essays would have been worth the cost of the book alone to me...

If you're part of the OSS movement, or if you're trying to understand how it will affect your business, this is a good book to read and ponder...

I WANT TO SEE THE TABLE CONTENTS OF AMAZON BOOKS!!!