The world needs Open Source
Ruth Cheesley - @RCheesley
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Good Afternoon, my name is Ruth Cheesley and I run a company
called Virya Technologies based just outside Ipswich, specialising
in Open Source technologies.
This afternoon I'm going to explore the topic of Open Source and
why I feel it's so important in the world today.
If you are active on Social Media you can tweet me @Rcheesley or
on Google+ at google.com/+RuthCheesley I'm on most networks so
please do add me and ping me if you have any questions.
We will have some time at the end for questions, and I'll be
around this evening so feel free to catch me later if you would
like to chat.
What do we mean 'Open Source'
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So, let's start off by what we mean when we say 'Open
Source'.
- Probably mostly in a development context- Extensively used in
development, coding
- Explore different licenses
- Consider different areas where it could be used
- Fundemental principals
The Four Freedoms
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Four Freedoms by Richard Stallman
- Developed in the early days when closed and proprietary was
becoming the norm
- Free as in free speech, free to do as you like, rather than
free beer as in costs nothing
- Four freedoms open doors, give opportunities.
- Not all OSS applies the four freedoms at the same level, to
the same groups.
Freedom 0
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The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
- Freedom 0 is the freedom to run the program for any
purpose
So this might be that you run it for the purpose it was
originally intended, or that you use it in a totally different an
innovative way for which it wasn't originally intended.
Look at this from the perspective of the user, and of the
developer some licenses are more restrictive on one or both of
these groups.
Freedom 1
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The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it
does your computing as you wish
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
The next freedom, freedom 1, allows you to be able to see how
the program works, delve under the bonnet, understand how it ticks,
and change it.
This might be by making bug fixes, or customising to meet your
needs (or that of your client), or even completely re-writing
entire parts of the code. The fundamental principle here is being
able to get in and poke about and do what you like.
The opposite of this can be found, for example, with microsoft
products where the source code is a closely guarded secret and this
principle is generally not seen at all in proprietary projects.
Freedom 2
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The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your
neighbour
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Freedom 2 gives you the right to redistribute copies so that you
can give it to other people.
I remember at University in the heyday of the Sasser infections
when everybody seemed to be getting infected, I only ever used free
and open source tools to fix people's computers and recover data,
so that they could then keep the software and continue to use it
themselves after I fixed whatever had been broken.
Analogy recipe. Anyone can use it to bake a cake, and you can
then share it on with your friends and family.
Freedom 3
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The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions,
giving the community a chance to benefit from your changes
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
This is where things get interesting the ability to distribute
modified versions of the existing copy, which gives others the
ability to benefit from your changes.
So, if we make changes, fix bugs, correct typo's, add
functionality, that we can then share that on with others.
In the recipe analogy, I might tweak the recipe to make it
vegan, and then share it on with friends, who might tweak it
further and share it with their friends, and so it continues.
Free as in 'Free Speech' not ...
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So you can see, when we are talking about freedom here, we're
talking about free as in, free speech not free beer,
unfortunately.
Freedom in the context of Open Source is the freedom we have
just talked about but often people confuse open source software
with free software.
The two often do coincide, but they are not always the same
thing.
Licensed to ...
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So, you can see how these principles give you the freedom but
there are a wide range of OS licenses which have different levels
of what can and can't be done.
For example, with freedom 3, how about redistributing an OS
project within a proprietary solution?
GPL not allowed, must be released as GPL. Other less restrictive
licenses do allow you to incorporate into proprietary software
Lots of different licenses
Flikr Creative Commons GPL/LGPL BSD etc.
Who uses Open Source?
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So, who of us uses Open Source technologies?
If we didn't have Open Source ...
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
OK so perhaps I'm exaggerating a little bit, but imagine if
everything in the world was developed in a proprietary,
closed-source environment. Imagine if nobody shared anything with
anybody unless it was for a fee. Imagine if no development was
shared until it was in a final, polished release (which was paid
for), and there was no access to the source code unless you worked
for the organisation licensing the software.
Consider all the innovation we see around us which would either
not have happened by now, or never have seen the light of day
because the people who came up with it were not inspired or
supported by this or that open source project, library or code
snippet.
Back to ...
"The future is open source everything"
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So, with this in mind, could we potentially open source
everything?
If we did, would it foster a sharing, caring community or cause
world-wide chaos?
Let's explore a couple of areas where open source principles
have been brought to bear on traditionally proprietary industries,
and how they have faired.
Early-stage pharmaceutical research
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Pharma
Dr. Jay Bradner BRD4, JQ1 & JQ2
Instead of operating in secrecy and guarding their work, shared
it. Mailed it to friends. Sent it to Oxford crystallographers, who
sent back an informative pictureunderstand better how the
small-molecule inhibitor works so potently against Brd4.
40 labs in the US and 30 more in Europe, encouraging these labs
to use it, build upon it, and share their findings in return.
Less than a year- JQ1 prevents the growth of leukemia, making
affected cells behave like normal white blood cells. Another group
reported that multiple myeloma cells respond dramatically to JQ1.
Still another found that the inhibitor prevents adipose cells from
storing fat, thus preventing fatty liver disease.
What a difference a year makes ...
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Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Using the old research models, Bradners team might have learned
that JQ1 affects AML cells in the first year.
But it might have been next year before they got to leukemia, and
years after that before they realised it also could affect fatty
liver.
How many years do you think the old approach adds to the
development of drugs we need today?
Are we willing to allow that to happen? Anyone who has had their
lives touched by cancer would, I'm sure, support a move toward a
more open source, rapidly evolving pharmaceutical industry over a
slow, clunky money-driven system like we have now.
Why Open Source?
No matter who you are,mostof the smartestpeople work for someone
else
~ Bill Joy
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Emergency shelters in Grenada hurricane relief. Aid was slow, no
media attention, destroyed 75% of housing and all the main cash
crop of nutmeg.
Shelters were developed over eight years, now using new
material, completely waterproof and hurricane-proof.
Installed in Haiti for over a year with no damage sustained.
Architecture
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Cameron Sinclair & Kate Stohr
How do you improve the living standards of five billion people?
With 100 million solutions
14,819 architectural projects
1,648,210 people have benefitted from 156 completed projects around
the world
44,512 members of the OAN
AFH pro-bono design, involve and engage the local community,
up-skill local people, design for their community. 20Yrs for UN to
make flap in tent
One billion live in abject poverty. Four billion live in fragile
but growing economies. 1 in 7 people live in slum settlements. By
2020 it will be 1 in 3.
Emergency Shelters
Open Architecture Network
Emergency shelters in Grenada hurricane relief. Aid was slow, no
media attention, destroyed 75% of housing and all the main cash
crop of nutmeg.
Shelters were developed over eight years, now using new
material, completely waterproof and hurricane-proof.
Installed in Haiti for over a year with no damage sustained.
Kenaf clinic
US Dept. of Agricultural Research Science
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Kenaf clinic HIV/Aids visiting doctors
Grows in 2 weeks in circle
Put a roof on top
Eat after the clinic is complete
What about the law?
Github NYSenate Open Legislation Project
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Track changes in laws
Changes in governments
Engage community in discussions
So, why don't lawyers use Github?
TEDGlobal 2012 Clay Shirky
People with a GitHub account
People experimenting with participationLawyers
People with powerRuth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Track changes in laws
Changes in governments
Engage community in discussions
We have a transparent system ...
TEDGlobal 2012 Clay Shirky
Transparency is openness in only one direction.
In a truly open society, it needs to flow both ways.
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
Track changes in laws
Changes in governments
Engage community in discussions
Why do we need Open Source?
What really matters to us that can't be achieved through
Community, Collaboration, Creativity?
Emergency shelters in Grenada hurricane relief. Aid was slow, no
media attention, destroyed 75% of housing and all the main cash
crop of nutmeg.
Shelters were developed over eight years, now using new
material, completely waterproof and hurricane-proof.
Installed in Haiti for over a year with no damage sustained.
In conclusion ...
Be the change you wish to see in the world
~Mahatma Gandhi
Ruth Cheesley
@RCheesley
So, in conclusion, I really believe that the world needs open
source, and the principles of open source have the ability to make
a real change in the world.
I would implore you to consider how the work you are doing right
now might benefit the wider world, and consider how you can all
take the open source concept forward.
Kubuntu
Libreoffice
Gwenview
GIMP
Git
With immense gratitude to the following Open Source projects
without which this presentation would be rather less awesome!
@RCheesley
Google.com/+RuthCheesley
[email protected]
