A centre of expertise in digital information management Open Source Software: The Case Against Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath,

A centre of expertise in digital information management

www.ukoln.ac.uk

Open Source Software:The Case Against

Brian KellyUKOLNUniversity of BathBath, BA2 7AY

[email protected]://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

UKOLN is supported by:


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What Is Open Source?

Open source can mean:• Free – as in “free beer”

For the educational section with limited funded, this must be good

• Free – as in “free speech” Freedom to view source, modify source,

redistribute source and redistribute modifications

“Free software is a matter of liberty not price.

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.”

“Free software is a matter of liberty not price.

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.” http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html


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60s Thinking?

• Make love not war• Was Paul a hippy?• What have we learnt? It’s a bunch of tree-

hugging hippy crap


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Big Business?

It’s not hippy-thinking - big business now likes open source!

Sun

IBM

NetscapeApple

Does it really – or is this just power plays between multinational companies?

Holds more patents than any other company (and is aggressive in protecting and exploiting its IPR)

Has continually refused to make Java open, using the Microsoft argument that it’s safer if Sun looks after it

AOL-Time Warner-Netscape invented the proprietary Web and, in light of the recent biggest-ever quarterly lost, would you rely on them?

Closed hardware, OS, networking.All they have going is an excellent OS and GUI and an easy-to-use system


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The Public Sector

The Public Sector (Universities, Government, EU, …): • Has a responsibility to make deliverables freely available to

taxpayers• Is in a position to build on open source products (Apache,

etc.) and ensure independence from commercial software vendors

• We should be doing this!

But:• This is a simplistic view• Public sector has a responsibility to provide value for money – and

this could include financial exploitation of its IPR (exist strategies, paying for staff on short-term contracts, etc.)

• It was a mistake for the Government to run a Dome – why expect public bodies to become software developers

• Links between commercial and public sector is now mainstream - and to ignore the prevailing cultural ethos is “hippy crap”!

Isn’t open source software developed in HE often intended to provide proof-of-concept or pilots, and once the concept has been accepted commercial products will be deployed to provide a service

Isn’t open source software developed in HE often intended to provide proof-of-concept or pilots, and once the concept has been accepted commercial products will be deployed to provide a service


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Has It Taken Off?

Much Talk, Little Action!

<www.opensource.ac.uk> was set up in 1998, but the home page hasn’t been updated since June 1999!

Viewing using the free (as in beer), ad-funded, closed source, standards-compliant Opera browser

Viewing using the free (as in beer), ad-funded, closed source, standards-compliant Opera browser


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Open Source Delivers Quality?

Open source will deliver quality software, as millions of developers can contribute to the code base and review the software! Apache proves this.But:

• This is a simplistic view• Netscape / Mozilla is a good example of difficulties:

Netscape 6.0 released, based on open source Mozilla

“considered slow and buggy, and adoption has not been high”

Mozilla project started in 1998 – what’s it delivered, who uses it?

• Just because source code is available doesn’t mean large nos. of developers will enhance it


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More Than Software

There is more to the provision of quality IT services than just the software:

• User requirements• Documentation• Ongoing support and maintenance

Some comments:• End users tend not to be interested in open source • Software developers often don’t prioritise readable,

user-oriented documentation• Software developers don’t like maintenance:

Who is interested in maintaining software developed under TLTP, eLib, …? They’re not sexy anymore (no XML, no XSLT, no Java,…)

• The software may be free – but the institutional costs can be high


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What Do Users Want?

Paraphrase of a recent conversation on train with IT Services director

“We wanted to get rid of MS Office, due to the increased licence fees.

A Student Union rep pointed out that the cost came to £9 per student, and this was very cheap as it provided students will experience of widely-used software, and this expertise would be a valuable skill to be mentioned in CVs.

The Student Unions would complain strongly on behalf of the student body if MS Office were removed”


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A One-Dimensional Approach

What should you choose:• An open source product which:

• Requires special libraries to be installed • Requires manual editing of config files in a DOS window• The documentation was written by a programmer for

other programmers

• A free product for which:• No source is available• It’s used by millions• Widespread documentation is available

Web site on your Palm:• BK: AvantGo link available• AS: Don’t use AvantGo – the source isn’t available,

use Plucker

Web site on your Palm:• BK: AvantGo link available• AS: Don’t use AvantGo – the source isn’t available,

use Plucker


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Free As In BeerSoftware which we don’t have to pay for can be good value, and is often what we want:

ht://Dig• Open source software for searching Web sites

• Most popular search tool in UK Universities

• But no evidence of mods made within community

Google• Popular global search engine & of increasing use

to search University Web sites (e.g. Leeds, …)• Free (as in beer)• Closed and no control (algorithms secret and

liable to change without warning, hosted remotely, no user groups, no financial relationships)

• But popular!


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Managerialism

Familiar grips?• “Why doesn’t senior management understand …”• “Why can’t I get the resources I need for my Web

team?”

Is it because of:• The single-minded approach of the open source

lobby• The criticism from software developers of

“managerialism”• The perception that open source software is

intended to provide “jobs for the boys”

Remember comments of Andrew Aird and Tracey Stanley: “the Web isn’t about technology”

Remember comments of Andrew Aird and Tracey Stanley: “the Web isn’t about technology”


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Why You Should Reject The Motion“The house believes that the future of Web in UK Higher and Further Education communities lies in the adoption of open source software”

Reject this motion because:• This one-dimensional motion ignores many equally, if not more, important issues

• Usability Skills User requirements Support

• Ignores organisations’ culture, background, mission, expertise, …

• Forces organisations into a particular approach, and denies them choice

Note that a mixed open / closed source environment is fine (and Apache is excellent) – but that isn’t what this motion calls for

Note that a mixed open / closed source environment is fine (and Apache is excellent) – but that isn’t what this motion calls for


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What We Should Be Doing

Open source does have a place, but:• There is a need to acknowledge there is not just a

single approach • We should be more tolerant in our

communications• We should acknowledge people’s rights to

disagree• We should be focussed and thoughtful in

communications

Comments on positive features of licensed software or reservations about open source software seem to generate reactions similar to George W Bush’s reactions to those who criticise US foreign policy!

Comments on positive features of licensed software or reservations about open source software seem to generate reactions similar to George W Bush’s reactions to those who criticise US foreign policy!

Documents

A centre of expertise in digital information management Open Source Software: The Case Against Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath,