Sunday, 11 March 2007 @ 1130
Elisa Camahort, Pres of Events & Mktg, BlogHer
Dawn Foster, Dir of Community & Partner Programs, Compiere
Annalee Newitz, Freelance Writer
Erica Rios, Internet Project Mgr, Anita Borg Institute For Women and Technology
[After leaving the previous panel, I came to this one in progress…]
Myths/Issues:
Lack of support:
- A major part of choosing an OS solution is the quality of the online community: documentation and peer support.
- You can actually see a contributors code work before hiring them.
- Many times you might be able to purchase support piecemeal for OS.
Code inclusion violations:
- Just know the license under which the code is released.
Lack of security:
- [insert standard arguments here]
Cost of making it usable/customer service is a hidden cost:
- This sticks. Free software is free as in freedom and not free beer to paraphrase Richard Stallman.
- There need to be financial resources dedicated to OS solutions.
OS is anti-capitalist:
- On the contrary, there is a VERY healthy dose of capitalism fueling OS.
OS as an ethical choice:
“Microsoft is in the Dark Ages of their evil…Google is the new evil, but they use open source so maybe they are a good, new evil” – Newitz
OS is the public library of the software realm. It is all about access to use and contribute. Particularly to groups that have systemic barriers otherwise.