Paper Example on GNU/FSF: Pioneers of the Open Source Software Movement

Contributions Of The GNU Project And The Free Software Foundation To The Open Source Software Movement

The hacker way of life that Richard Stallman had prospered in on began to decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Majority of software developers halted the distribution of source code and commenced the use of copyright and software authorizations that could restrict, prevent replication and distribution. This was to prompt the prevention of software usage on their opponents' computers.

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This prompted Richard Stallman to resign his career at MIT in February 1984. He decided to take a full-time occupation on the GNU project. The innovative purpose of this project was mainly to enhance the conception of a free operating system. He had publicized this project in September the prior year. Richard Stallman argued that users of the software opt to have been granted the liberty to share with others. He also wanted the users to have learning capabilities and the capacity to amend the software that they used.

Later afterward, he went ahead to start a non-profit making firm named the Free Software Foundation. This foundation employed free software programmers that provided a permissible set-up for the free software program. After he had established the Free Software Foundation, the GNU Linux project commenced. Its main objective was to make a Unix-like operating system. It was to include a source code that would allow the aspects of replication, modification, and redistribution. The free operating system developed from the GNU project contributed to the open source software movement in providing that there was no digital divide and that the users of the computers had full control of their computer systems.

Contributions Of The Computer Science Research Group From The U.S. West Coast In Open Source Software Movement

In 1974, Professor Bob Fabry of University of California in Berkeley was granted a UNIX source license from the AT&T. He created a research group that would adjust UNIX and advance multiple applications which later came to be acknowledged as "BSD" Unix. The group was named the Computer Science Research Group in the West. This was done by the University of California in Berkeley.

After a short duration of time, the group was the best recognized free Unix developer. Majority of Unix sites made use of various Berkeley software. Among the most significant applications developed by the group was the Berkeley Sockets application programming interface and the Berkeley Fast File System.

The programming interface resolved the menace of systems supportive of many proprieties. Meanwhile, the Fast File System improved the disk transfer performance. This was because it amplified the block provision size from fewer bytes to multiple bytes or more which improved disk utilization. Notably, another significant role was task control signals, that allowed a computer user to append a task with a key-press.

Computer Science Research Group played a significant contribution to the open source software movement. This was basically because the group innovated various applications that were non-proprietary; hence the majority of residents could access them. As stated earlier, they eased significant processes. This group also gave a platform for other software developers to mainly focus on the development of free software for the benefits of residents.

The History Of The Open Source Software Movement

In the initial ages, the encounter between proprietary software and non-proprietary software was tremendous. Major technology firms regarded the open source substitutes as major coercions to their particular markets. Later afterwards, the open source substitutes to the proprietary software were developed in significant aspects of the software. This was prompted by the open source software movement.

The open-source-software movement is a program that offers rations for the use of open-source authorizations most software. This movement was established to spread the perception of open-source applications. Open source necessitates non-discrimination against users in not distributing the modified code or hamper others from amending their already-amended work. This slant to software expansion permits anybody to acquire and modify the source code. Programmers supporting this movement usually volunteer in writing codes and swapping them for software expansion

In February the year 1998, Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond initiated an initiative by the name Open Source Initiative. This initiative was influential in the ratification of the open-source movement. The open source initiative has since then become one of the significant cohorts of the open-source movement. It owns the trademark "Open Source," and the sole tool for adoption was the definition of Open Source.

Throughout the decades, multiple debates on the advantages and disadvantages of the two progress methods have supervened. Charges are much inferior for open-source software, and innovation is obliged best in the open-source software. In conclusion, the software progresses that have been prompted by open-source movement are neither unique, but they have made considerable strides in developing substitutions to propriety software.

Ways In Which Open Source Software Movement Has Made An Impact On Society As A Whole

Open source movement has made substantial changes in the way the society considers software. The most notable advantage is the accessibility of software free of charge. The provision of the source code gives the users control over the software they use.

Economic dependence in the field of software development has been halted through the open source software movement. The knowledge of developing software has been enhanced by various aspects such as the capability of users to amend changes to the source code to suit their personal needs. This movement also guarantees software developers in the emerging nations a unique chance to participate in the universal software development community.

Open source software movement has resolved a key issue in putting down users' reliance on advisors and support specialists from various companies. It was prevalent for organizations in developing countries to import expertise or personnel that would install their software and maintain it when appropriate forcing the organizations to incur a lot of costs. Open source software movement aids organizations to quiver off such dependencies and make tremendous and positive advances towards developing vibrant software that suits them best.

Personal Impact Made By The Open Source Software Movement

Open source software movement has had a significant impact on my life. Below are the benefits of choosing for open source software developed after the campaign was established.

• Lesser hardware costs- Due to the compressed nature of open source software, it takes reduced hardware power to perform similar tasks. I usually use less expensive or older hardware and still get the desired results.
• High-quality software- Open source software movement guarantees me a high-quality software. This is because the source code is always available and that the software is well-designed.
• It has no vendor lock-in- When using proprietary software, I experience challenges such as the nonexistence of portability, and incapability to modify the software. Using open source software provides for solutions since it is more portable, and I can change the software to suit my needs.
• Simple license administration- When using the open source software, I don't have concerns about the software licenses.
• Low software costs- I usually experience fewer expenses when using open source software since I don't have to pay for both the license fees and maintenance fees.
• Abundant support- Open source support is frequently freely accessible; hence, it can be easily retrieved from online communities.

The Future Of The Open Source Software Movement

This movement has transformed the sequence of modern software development. With no doubt, Linux can be viewed as the most significant instance so far. I expect the movement to publicize the significance of open source software to enhance continued growth. This will do more businesses to start recognizing the benefits in open sourcing mechanisms they develop

In conclusion, the future of open source software is bright. This is because the majority of software organizations have started implementing the use of open source technology. Commercial opportunities have also begun arise from providing services in these products. This will raise the motivation to open source since organizations will see a prospect to get expertise where they can invest in modifying the technology that will suit them best.

References

Carillo, Kevin & Okoli, Chitu. (2008). The open source movement: A revolution in software development. Journal of Computer Information Systems. 49. 1-9.

Rouse, Margaret (2015, December) GNU project. Retrieved from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/GNU-project

Singh, Vivek (2018 ,January 10) A brief history of open source. Retrieved from https://gitcoin.co/blog/a-brief-history-of-open-source/

Smith, Tom (2018, Feb 13) The future of open source is so bright Retrieved from https://dzone.com/articles/the-future-of-open-source-is-so-bright

Soderberg, J. (2015). Hacking capitalism: The free and open source software movement. Routledge.

Vaughan, Jack (2010, April 14) What is the future of open source software? Retrieved from https://searchapparchitecture.techtarget.com/news/1509934/What-is-the-future-of-open-source-software

Von Hippel, E. (2001). Learning from open-source software. MIT Sloan management review, 42(4), 82-86.