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Why Free/Open-Source Software Matters.

(And why you should care.)

Dr. Marko Schütz

Department of Mathematical Sciences

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Mayagüez, PR

April 10th , 2008

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Caution!

– will give highly opinionated talk

– don’t believe anything I say
– investigate the issues yourself

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Software is a New Medium

Software is a medium to convey ideas, knowledge, concepts

like
– printed text (books, newspapers)
– photography, moving pictures (tv, movies)
– mathematics
– software as medium has characteristic features
> describes processes/procedures
Processes manipulate data. Programs control processes.
> processes are dynamic and can be responsive
> malleable
> information only, intangible

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Software is a New Medium

Software is a medium to convey ideas, knowledge, concepts

like
– printed text (books, newspapers)
– photography, moving pictures (tv, movies)
– mathematics
– software as medium has characteristic features
> describes processes/procedures
Processes manipulate data. Programs control processes.
> processes are dynamic and can be responsive
> malleable
> information only, intangible

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Struggle
Opportunities

Software is a New Medium

Software is a medium to convey ideas, knowledge, concepts

like
– printed text (books, newspapers)
– photography, moving pictures (tv, movies)
– mathematics
– software as medium has characteristic features
> describes processes/procedures
Processes manipulate data. Programs control processes.
> processes are dynamic and can be responsive
> malleable
> information only, intangible

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Example: Source Code

The source code representation...

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
float celsius;
printf("Celsius Fahrenheit\n");
for (celsius = 0.0; celsius <= 100.0;
celsius += 10.0)
printf("%3.0f %3.0f\n",
celsius, celsius * 1.8 + 32.0);
}

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Example: Process Output

...leads to a process with no input and output

Celsius Fahrenheit
0 32
10 50
20 68
30 86
40 104
50 122
60 140
70 158
80 176
90 194
100 212

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Example: Source Code (modified)

We want different range and step width

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
float celsius;
printf("Celsius Fahrenheit\n");
for (celsius = 20.0; celsius <= 40.0;
celsius += 2.0)
printf("%3.0f %3.0f\n",
celsius, celsius * 1.8 + 32.0);
}

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Example: Process Output

...leads to a process with no input and output

Celsius Fahrenheit
20 68
22 72
24 75
26 79
28 82
30 86
32 90
34 93
36 97
38 100
40 104

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Authoring Software

– authoring a novel
> idea about the story
> writing utensils (pen and paper, computer, ...)
> writing skills
> requires some training
– authoring a program
> idea about the behavior(s)
> programming utensils (computer, pen and paper, ...)
> programming skills
> requires some training

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Software’s Impact on Society

– printing press (invented around 600 years ago)

tool that spread
> Reformation
> Renaissance
– moving pictures (invented around 120 years ago)
> movie budgets, actors’ incomes
> Hollywood
– software (invented around 70 years ago)
> in the process of recasting all the other media in the context
of software: google news, ebooks, youtube
> still early: What will historians say about software in 530
years?

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Proprietary compared to Free/Open-Source

struggle over control
– proprietary
> source code kept secret
> distinguish
- program for own personal use
- program to be sold
without disclosing how the parts work together
- questionable practices to control medium (separate slide)

users are like citizens in a dictatorship

– FOSS
> use for any purpose, in any way
> study/investigate how parts work together
> challenge and modify to your liking
> share and feedback with community

users are like citizens in a democracy

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.
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Copyright, Licenses, and Patents

Copyright
– balances rights of copyright holders and rights of users of
copyrighted material
– material: a performance, an embodiment of an idea
Licenses
– expand rights provided by copyright
Patents
– balance interests of innovator and e.g. open competition
(public interests)
– protect innovator to recoup investment into invention
– applies to: idea of the innovation

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Licenses

– govern what users may/must do

– expand rights provided by copyright
– proprietary often forbid
> running the software in more than one process
> installing on more than one machine
> observing precisely how the resulting processes work, how
the parts fit together
> finding out how your data is stored
> analogy to car with hood locked and sealed, or allowed to
drive only to WalSoft
– FOSS
> right to use, study, change, distribute
> some require changes to be FOSS, if changes are
distributed

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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What’s wrong with patents?

– trivial patents like

> progress bar (EP1022648, US Patent 7290698)
> accepting payment via credit cards (US Patent 7309003)
no innovation, no investment
– software patents
> patent how to program something, e.g. binary tree
> comparison to mathematics
> obviousness
> over 170,000 software patents

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Questionable Business Practices

– trivial patents
– obvious patents
– “hijacking” your data
– proprietary standards

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Politics

– increasing need for re-balancing the interests

– Pirate Party
> in 20 countries including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, UK, Peru, US
> copyright:
encourage non-commercial copying, access, storage and
use
> patents:
abolish patents, replace with alternative means
> privacy

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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FOSS and Education

– learning to program
– learning about the concepts expressed in software
– tell the stories of a field: expressing domain knowledge in
terms of software
– tools supporting teaching, learning, experimentation, ...
> learn specific topic e.g. geometry
> support learning environment e.g. learning management
systems
> data visualization, statistical computing, etc.

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

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Education
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Learning to Program

– some FOSS is very well written

– is written, reviewed, corrected, and improved by hordes of
very good programmers
– state of the art
– very instructive to read and understand

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Express Domain Knowledge

– “write a program that ...”

– natural for CS
– requires very thorough understanding of all the concepts
and how they relate
– conversely, reading and understanding source code
supports learning about the concepts of a domain
– e.g. typesetting: How does kerning work precisely?

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Example: Moodle

– sites:
41000+
– courses:
1.8M+
– users:
18M+
– teachers:
1.8M+
– countries:
190+
– languages:
70+

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Example: Compass and Ruler

– teach geometry by
constructions with
compass and ruler

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Business Opportunities

– from package sale to service provider

– e.g. IBM reinvented the company around FOSS
– models include
> support sellers
> loss leader
> widget frosting
> accessorizing
> service enabler

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Economic Opportunities

– no license fees
matters most for larger organizations, enterprises
– TCO debate
> with FOSS we can better direct where the money goes
e.g. proprietary software X campus license $40,000;
replace with FOSS Y and hire a local full-time programmer.

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
Education
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Business and Economy
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Why use FOSS?

– Why live in a democracy?

– have a say in the rules/regulations
– learn and understand what happens “under the hood”
– economically weaker regions: keep funds local
– ...

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.

 Medium Software
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Summary

– software is a new medium

– ongoing fight for control
– FOSS is about freedom of expression
– offers attractive opportunities in education, business and
economy

Thanks!

Marko Schütz Why FOSS matters.