As was discussed in my last post, the Budapest declaration of open information promotes open access to read and distribute information. This is consistent with a viewpoint of societal freedom. The open source software movement has a synergy of American and European components. As an example, the public minded GNU foundation has created many of the building blocks of open source operating systems. However, Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, wanted to have a completely free system to run on his computer. These entities exist in a form of anarchy, as there is no formal hierarchy or economic activities dictating that these individuals provide these services. They were doing it presumably for the good of an open society.
In the last year net neutrality has become a major issue. In the near future, US internet access is likely to favor websites that pay the internet provider for access. Sites with free information about scientific research, literature, or open source software may not have the resources to pay these fees. Under such a system, Americans may be able to view videos on You Tube or search on Google easily. This is because these sites are operated by large multinational companies that could pay for high speed access to US internet users. Other websites may be very slow to access, or completely blocked off.
In Europe, there is more freedom online due to the European Union strictly monitoring the business competition environment. Access must be impartial, which is similar to the concept of net neutrality. Thus, Europeans will be able to access the latest free online journal or Linux software as easily as using Google.
Kristian Bredemeyer
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3 comments:
Really interesting comment on internationally differential access to websites. I think it's something that there is alot of concern about. Have you seen any figures on international difference in usage of open source software? I've heard that open source GIS, for example, is used more in Europe, but I don't think I've seen any surveys of what people in different countries are actually using.
I saw some statistics of ~30 to 40% usage in Germany, while in the US usage was about 20 to 30%. Today in the news it sounds like Microsoft has unleashed a new potential slurry of lawsuits against free software in the US. The analysis of this so far is that it could result in more development being offshored as litigation could easily drive most US based software development to a stop.
Interesting statistic! - do you remember where you saw that?
~L
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