The Open Source logo. Source: http://opensource.org
"True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it." -Karl Popper.
The Open Source logo. Source: http://opensource.org
I will start this first article by assuming that the reader already knows what software is, as opposed to hardware. In case you still don't know, I've just linked to the two Wikipedia articles so you can read those definitions.
The subject of this first article of what --I hope-- will be my new tech blog, is the Open Source or Free Software. A relatively new type of software philosophy (or methodology) that is triumphing in the world of tech projects and companies. Particularly, in Internet projects.
Basically the Open Source or Free Software (purists will say that they are different things and maybe they are right, but here I will treat them as synonymous) is a way of writing and developing programs in which everyone has access to the source code. The source code --once again, I link to the definition, but will I describe its meaning briefly-- is the recipe or sequence of steps by which a computer program solves the problems it has to solve. For example: with Microsoft Office, we can use the Word word processor, the Excel spreadsheet, the Power Point presentation software, etc. But we cannot see (assuming we care) how the people from Microsoft programmed that Word, that Excel. How they work internally.
Having access to that recipe, to that series of instructions, to that manufacturing process --to draw an analogy-- allows us to modify the software. In this way we can study what is the most efficient way to solve a programming problem, by analyzing the sequence of instructions that were used. And we can copy and paste that sequence of instructions for our own solution, if applicable.
Well, that way of thinking (which in my opinion has similarities with the scientific method, in the sense of sharing and publishing new findings freely, and finding pleasure in spreading knowledge) is winning over the old way of thinking in programming: privative or proprietary software. In this old way of thinking, we see the programs as a black box. We use them to solve problems, but we have no idea of what is happening inside of them.
The business model of Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, SAP and other well-known software multinationals, is based on the traditional proprietary model. By selling their solutions as a closed box, they find it easier to charge money for them. And they also maintain a competitive advantage (a sort of trade secret). However, other companies, especially in the Internet sector, use the model of open technologies or Open Source. These companies earn a lot of money, too. Using open technologies does not mean you cannot make money with them. But it does mean that the barrier of entry is much lower. And that's because in addition to being able to study the way in which others have solved the same problem before, with open technologies you generally do not have to pay a license to use the tools. And this saves a lot of money and time.
Some examples of companies that use open technologies (and are still highly profitable) are: Amazon Web Services, Facebook, Google, Red Hat, IBM. Most Internet companies (even nonprofits, such as the organization that maintains Wikipedia) run on open source software. The web and all its standards, too, are clearly open source. Android phones and other devices such as Smart TVs that use Android, also use (although we may not realize) open source technologies.
The best-known example of Open Source is the Linux kernel. There are also other examples such as the Libre Office office suite, the Mozilla Firefox browser or the Wordpress blogging platform.
The Linux kernel in particular, is the most used software in the world. That's because it's inside of most of the world's cell phones and tablets (any device that uses Android). In addition to that, it is in the vast majority of the world's web servers (such as those that Google, Facebook and Wikipedia use), on the platform that Spotify uses, and in many other streaming services. However, it does not have good press. It is not an easy sell, because of its reputation of being difficult to use and having a crude graphic aspect.
For the average computer user, what is seen and used is Microsoft Windows and OS X, the Apple Mac system. However, if you want to build an Internet company, you'd better use the Linux kernel and any of the the multiple open source programming languages available, so that your start-up is profitable and competitive.
That's what I referred to in the article's headline, and that's why I think Open Source has already won, since it's already dominating the other proprietary software model. Because the Internet is the most dynamic sector. And the tools used in that area are mostly Open Source. However, this revolution is invisible to non-specialists, those who are not in the technology sector.
In fact, if one looks at the worlwide programming job ads, most of them (for example: in the United States, Germany, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand) are looking for people with skills and experience in Open Source tools. They are so hungry for people whith these skills, that sometimes tech companies come to recruit them to South America, and offer them jobs in Europe or North America. The job offer often includes a work contract and the corresponding work permit or visa.
I must finish this article here, because my goal is to make it a light and quick read. So it shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes. But the main ideas that I want the reader to take away are: the difference between software and hardware, the differences between the models of proprietary software and open source software, and the notion that the open source software is the paradigm that is prevalent today in the Internet sector of the digital economy. Knowing that these open source tools exist is important for any educated person who works professionally in the current digital society. And better yet, knowing how to use this specific type of software tools guarantees employability for the jobs of the future, as evidenced by the employment ads and the recruiting campaigns in the high tech sector.
(C) May 15, 2018, Alejandro Moliné.
Your comments or feedback are welcome: contacto@alemoline.com