Business

Open Source in use in business: case studies and building a business around Open Source


Open Source Software Hardware Requirements and Environmental Waste 2

Several million Pentium PCs currently end up in UK landfill sites each year. At the same time the minimum hardware requirements for much Open Source Software continues to increase. For example in 2002 there were then several current packaged releases of Linux that had no difficulty running on a Pentium II PC or equivalent. Today in 2005 it might be possible to install some of the current releases on such a machine, but only someone who has an interest in slow-motion would appreciate the end result at run-time. Also unlike an older car or computer monitor an older PC generally uses less not more power than a newer one.

Although an older version of Linux is still fairly secure compared to some other operating systems it is not likely to have the level of support enjoyed by more recent versions. It can for example become an extremely time consuming business to get drivers for some hardware using older releases and dependency problems between releases are common. On the plus side it could be argued that because the code is open a user has in theory a chance to overcome such problems. However that kind of user will almost certainly need above average technical skills to do this, which means that most users will go for the easiest option of upgrading the hardware to match or exceed the minimum requirements of the latest software.

In some cases it maybe possible to get a reasonable run-time result using the latest Open Source Software on older hardware by adding more memory. Other upgrades such as adding a more powerful processor to an older board can only be taken so far, but in any event this leaves the environmental problem of what to do with the replaced component.

I might suggest that there is money to be made from a potential market need to develop Open Source Software that successfully tackles minimum hardware requirements in the most environmentally friendly way. There are many who claim that the use of Open Source Software is already extending the life of computer hardware, but in my view there is considerable potential to do more.

Mark Elkins


Open Source as an Economic Model 1

Open Source Software and Activity has brought about the creation of many tangible items including the Linux Kernel, OpenOffice, Apache web server, PHP scripting language, Perl programming language, and MySQL DBMS. All of these are used directly or indirectly to produce Goods and Services. So a Bicycle manufacturer could be using OpenOffice to produce written reports and the Apache web server to host a website promoting its products.

Thus it can be argued that Open Source Software and Activity even if supplied free of charge to the user nevertheless adds to the Goods and Services available within an Economy. The ultimate extension of this theory might be to speculate on the possibility of a fully functional Open Source Economy.

Communism is an Economic theory that in essence originates via the work of Karl Marx although of course some forms of Communism follow his work more literally than others. So for example China is a Communist country but not in the way the former Soviet Union was under Joseph Stalin or Lenin. One of the many differences between the way Communism appears to operate and Open Source Activity is that the latter simply does not have the restrictions of the former. Indeed it could be argued that Open Source Activity is far less restrictive than uncontrolled Capitalist or Laissez-faire Activity, which amongst its possible faults has monopolistic tendencies.

A similarity with worker controlled Co-operatives could be made with those (workers) who contribute to and control Open Source Software Projects. In Mondragon, Spain a successful Co-operative Economy has operated for many decades.

Perhaps a mixed economy with each economic model competing with the other is the safest and most practical way to achieve a successful modern economy. However Open Source is yet to become a fully established player within the kind of mixed economy found in the UK and elsewhere. In that respect is it destined to be the next great advancement in Economics?

Mark Elkins


Open Source Activity – Business Model or Charity? 4

One of the great strengths of Open Source software is that thousands contribute to it. Many of those do so for free and therefore receive no wages for the time spent on their contribution. Others can use that contribution for free and make or save money from it.

So for example an Accountant could make use of an Open Source spreadsheet programme and pay nothing for doing so. Is this fair? The Accountant will have saved money by not using a proprietary programme, the Open Source programme maybe more productive than the commercial alternative, and the Accountant will expect to be paid for the work they have done using the programme.

In the UK and elsewhere the prevailing Economic ideology is that a workers remuneration is directly linked to the skills they have. So a general scarcity of particular skills will generally result in higher wages being paid to workers with those skills. This is clearly not what is guaranteed to happen with Open Source Activity.

There is a danger that the more time someone spends on Open Source Activity the more they will suffer financially. So for example they may not be able to afford to buy their own home or pay into a pension scheme.

Some critics of the Open Source Community claim that its ideology is “communist-like” perhaps because it does not fit in with the prevailing “free market” ideology. The converse side of such an argument is that there are and always have been gaps or faults with the “free market”. For example a drug company might not invest in research unless it can obtain a certain level of Return On Investment (ROI) that ultimately its shareholders will expect from it. Those shareholders might not be too happy if they receive no dividend payout on their shares, because they need it for example to pay for their pension or the pensions of others.

In the above example of the drug company, Open Source Activity might mean that a gap is plugged to produce much needed medicine for distribution in third world countries at a price affordable to those countries. That activity by thousands of Open Source contributors could mean that a new technology or process is discovered to make this possible. This might be impossible for the drug company because it simply cannot afford to employ that amount of people and stay in business. It may however, like the example of the Accountant above, be able to make free use and therefore profit from Open Source Activity.

Mark Elkins


IBM’s Richard Moore delivers great Linux talk! 1

On Tuesday, 8th March 2005, Richard Moore who is a member of IBM’s Advanced Linux Response Team gave a very informative and interesting talk on Linux to the BCS Hampshire Branch at Southampton Institute.

The talk discussed the issue of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and how Linux differs fundamentally from proprietary operating systems in general.

He explained why Linux source code is so good in comparison to other operating systems. One major reason for this is due to the many thousands of developers who are able and willing to contribute to the code because it is open source. Detailed information on the structure of the code that goes into the Linux kernel revealed that only a small portion is specific to any particular architecture be it mainframe, Intel, or whatever. Therefore most of it is platform independent.

A question from the audience revealed that IBM has recently released thousands of patents. As a result Richard Moore felt that recent debate in the media about patents restricting open source development were debatable.

Of other possible interest to OSSG is that a member of the Green Party in the audience informed the speaker that his party was the only one with a specific commitment to open source software in its manifesto.

Richard Moore told me after his speech that he would be willing to give a talk at an OSSG event. He gives talks on various different Linux topics in addition to this one entitled “The Business value of Linux – Oxymoron or Opportunity”. The slides for this will appear on the BCS Hampshire website fairly shortly.

Mark Elkins