Cloud services are the actual infrastructure. Open source is the blueprints and building materials of our digital infrastructure. Infrastructure should be built from open source, but it is important to understand the difference between software and a service, because there is a person in the middle, the one operating the service. There will be no digital sovereignty just with open source, only with transparent services. The combination creates the necessary infrastructure and resulting sovereignty.
Continue reading “Open Source is Not The Infrastructure of Modern Society…”Whose Open Source Freedom is it Anyway?
It is 2021 and there is still a lot of fighting about “freedom” in open source software development. Here is an analytical breakdown of the issues.
Freedom can refer to people or artifacts (source code). When it refers to people, it is typically freedom of choice regarding what to do. There are three main roles in open source: The original programmer, an intermediary (another programmer or a software vendor), and the users or customers of the vendor. I’m simplifying, but this matches the distribution use-case in which license clauses put the most obligations on people.
Continue reading “Whose Open Source Freedom is it Anyway?”Open Source and Public Policy (Slides)
In this talk, I explain the significance of the software industry for a country’s economy and how to strengthen it using open source. It is directed at public policy makers and the general public. This is the slide deck of a previously posted video.
The deck is also available as a PDF for download.
Open Source and Public Policy (Video)
In this short video, I explain the significance of the software industry for a country’s economy and how to strengthen it using open source. It is directed at public policy makers and the general public.
Next to the Youtube embed, there is also an ad-free version courtesy of FAU, my main employer, as well as a simple download available. Fast forward to the slides as well.
Open Source im Blickpunkt der Politik (Video, in German)
In diesem kurzen Video erkläre ich die Bedeutung der Softwareindustrie für die Wirtschaft eines Landes und wie Open-Source-Software diese stärken kann. Es richtet sich an Public-Policy-Maker und alle interessierten Personen.
Die englische Version dieses Videos folgt; die Folien wurden vom FAU Sprachdienst aus dem Englischen ins Deutsche übersetzt (und von mir nachkorrigiert).
Neben obigem Youtube embed gibt es eine werbefreie Version auf der FAU Website sowie eine runterladbare Datei.
The slides are also available (English only).
Interview on “Why Open Source is Good for Your Economy”
Sultan Qaboos University just published the interview I gave them about “why open source is good for your economy” in their university magazine. Read the original magazine issue (magazine copy, article copy) or my prior blog post. Finally, I have to say: Love the visuals 😉
Translation (to German) of Interview on Open Source in the Public Sector
I recently was interviewed about open source in the public sector and blogged my answers here:
- Should the public sector use open source software? 1/4
- Why did munich drop Linux and LibreOffice for Microsoft Windows and Office? 2/4
- Should the public sector consider open source only for new purchases? 3/4
- Shouldn’t a public government stay out of the software market? 4/4
t3n magazin now (liberally) translated these to German. Check it out: Ich denke, dass Software mit offenem Quelltext längst gewonnen hat. (local copy).
Why Open Source is Good for Your Economy (FOSSC19 Recap)
It is no secret that software is everywhere. No traditional product has remained untouched, whether the product is being produced using software or whether software is an integral part of it. As part of this wave of digitization, established vendors from outside the software industry need to avoid that someone else will reap all the profits from their products. That someone else would be software companies that supply needed components. In particular software platforms can have such network effects that their providers can reach a monopoly position so that dependent vendors who need the platform will face a diminishing profit margin.
Continue reading “Why Open Source is Good for Your Economy (FOSSC19 Recap)”Why Open Source is Good for Your Economy
Today, at FOSSC 2019 in Muscat, Oman, I gave a talk about the benefits of sponsoring open source software development to about anyone who isn’t the software vendor whose product is getting replaced by that open source software. These are the slides. I will be repeating the same message at the German Forschungsgipfel in March. Also, here is a slideshare version:
[slideshare id=131019008&doc=osecon16x9-190208141547]
Einladung zum 2. Offener IT-Gipfel — Offenheit, Innovation & Gesellschaft
Ich werde am 18.11. in Berlin auf dem 2. offenen IT-Gipfel mit einem Vortrag zu Open Source vertreten sein. Sie sind herzlich eingeladen, die Teilnahme ist kostenlos. Mehr Information zur Veranstaltung.