Subject: NetAction Notes No. 36
Audrie Krause (audrie@netaction.org)
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 09:18:47 -0700 (PDT)
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 09:18:47 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <2.2.16.19980420092207.4cd79e8a@pop.igc.org> To: roundtable@cni.org From: Audrie Krause <audrie@netaction.org> Subject: NetAction Notes No. 36
NetAction Notes
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Published by NetAction Issue No. 36 April 20, 1998
Repost where appropriate. Copyright and subscription info at end of message.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Open Cyberspace
Support for Cyber-Activism
About NetAction Notes
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Open Cyberspace
Bill Gates may envision the Internet as one vast toll-road for the
Microsoft monopoly, but that isn't a vision shared by Brian Behlendorf,
Eric Allman, Greg Olson, Larry Wall, Paul Vixie, or a host of other
software developers whose names are not nearly as well known, but whose
work we rely on every time we visit cyberspace. What these individuals
have in common with each other -- and what distinguishes them from Gates
-- is that the products they developed are available for free to anyone
who wants to use them. Behlendor lead the team that developed the
Apache web server, which runs more than 50% of all Web sites; Allman and
Olson are responsible for sendmail, the program that routes more than
75% of the Internet's email, Wall developed the Perl computer language
used to create and manage most web sites, and Vixie is responsible for
BIND, the software that provides the domain name service (DNS) for the
entire Internet.
These individuals, and other software developers who create "freeware"
products, do so with publicly available source code, rather than
proprietary source code like that used by Microsoft. The non-profit
Software in the Public Interest uses the term "open source" to describe
software programs created from publicly available source code and
distributed for free. For a complete description of "open source"
criteria, see <http://www.opensource.org/>.
Earlier this month, Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly & Associates, convened
a gathering of the developers of key Internet technologies, whom he
described as "open source pioneers." The meeting in Palo Alto, CA, was a
forum for exploring ways to expand the use and acceptance of freeware
development as a business model. A report on the O'Reilly forum,
including a complete list of the software developers who participated,
is at <http://www.oreilly.com/>.
NetAction Advisory Board member Judi Clark attended a press conference
at the conclusion of the meeting. Judi sees the gathering as important
to ensuring that the Internet remains open an accessible.
"One point that came out clearly was the need for the public to see and
understand the significance of this model of software development, and
its prevalence in our lives," said Clark. (For more on the significance
of freeware, see Keith Porterfield's article "Software Wants to be
Free," at <http://www.netaction.org/articles/freesoft.html>.
The conference participants identified several reasons why the "open
source" model of software development is so important to the future of
the Internet:
1) Open source software is already running a significant portion of the
Internet. This suggests that a collaborative business model, based on
shared knowledge, can be as operationally feasible as a competitive
model based on proprietary knowledge and private control of standards
for interoperability.
2) Open source software development has already spawned numerous new
businesses and businesses models, some focused on driving down the cost
of distribution, and others targeting the need for customer support.
3) Open source software has social values -- such as a broad
distribution of labor, and competition focused on implementation, rather
than control of, standards -- which overlap the emergence of new
business models.
4) Open source software development demonstrates new ideas by promoting
widespread use of new products, one example of which is the evolution of
the web browser. In its first, text-based form, the browser was created
by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (Centre Europe'enne pour la Recherche
Nucle'aire). This was followed by a graphical browser, which was
initially created as an "open source" product by Mark Andreesen and
other grad students at NCSA (the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications), at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Many
of the SCSA students later participated in the formation of Netscape
Communications Corporation.
5) Open source software development promotes consumer choice and helps
keep the market honest. With the typical proprietary model of software
development, companies are often compelled to market software with
"bugs" in order to meet the demands of investors, and consumers are
expected to accept the marketing, for profit, of defective products.
Moreoever, when new versions of the product are released to correct the
"bugs" found in the initial product, the new versions introduce yet
another set of "bugs" which will eventually be fixed by yet another
release.
Judi Clark is optimistic that the Palo Alto meeting will lead to further
discussions, and to increased awareness among Internet users of the
importance of supporting the continued development of software based on
publicly available source code.
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Support for Cyber-Activism
OMB Watch's Nonprofits and Technology Project is offering grants,
ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, and awards, ranging from $1,000 to
$3,000, to nonprofit organizations employing innovative uses of
technology in public policy efforts.
For more information, see <http://www.ombwatch.org/ombwatch/npt/>.
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About NetAction Notes
NetAction Notes is a free electronic newsletter, published by NetAction to
promote effective grassroots organizing on the Internet. NetAction is a
national, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public, policy
makers, and the media about technology-based social and political issues,
and to teaching activists how to use the Internet for organizing, outreach,
and advocacy.
To subscribe to NetAction Notes, send a message to: <majordomo@netaction.org>
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NetAction is seeking sponsors to provide financial support for the continued
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newsletter and on NetAction's Web site. NetAction is supported by individual
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For more information about contributing to NetAction, or sponsoring this
newsletter, contact Audrie Krause by phone at (415) 775-8674, by E-mail at
<mailto:audrie@netaction.org>, visit the NetAction Web site at
<http://www.netaction.org/>, or write to:
NetAction * 601 Van Ness Ave., No. 631 * San Francisco, CA 94102
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Copyright 1998 by NetAction/The Tides Center. All rights reserved.
Material may be reposted or reproduced for non-commercial use provided
NetAction is cited as the source. NetAction is a project of The Tides
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