Free Libre Open Source Software: strategies & policies, presented in Lima November 2019.

1. FLOSS
Strategies and policies
Prof. dr. Frederik Questier - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Presented at:
Workshop “Policies and strategies on openness in research and education”
Universidad San Ignacio De Loyola, Lima, Peru 15/11/19

2. This presentation can be found at
http://questier.com
http://www.slideshare.net/Frederik_Questier

3. In the beginning
almost all software was...
➢
produced by academic
& corporate researchers
in collaboration
➢
shared with source code
IBM “SHARE” user group (1955)
Digital Equipment Computer
Users' Society (DECUS, 1961)
Source code: if encrypt(password) == encryptedpassword, then login=1, end
Compiled code: 00100101110101001100110000111101100011000111000110101

4. … until Bill Gates
wrote an Open Letter
to Hobbyists:
“Your sharing is
stealing”
(1976)

5. Monopoly abuse
US justice department 1999:
“Microsoft is a monopolist and
it engaged in massive
anticompetitive practices
that harmed innovation
and limited consumer choice”

6. 15
"The most fundamental
way of helping other
people,
is to teach people
how to do things better
or how to better their
lives.
For people
who use computers,
this means sharing
the recipes
you use on your
computer,
in other words
the programs you run."

7. 16
1986: Stallman defined
“Free Software”
The freedom to
➢
use
➢
study & change
➢
share
➢
share modified
programs

8. Free Software Licenses
➢
The 4 freedoms are guaranteed and enforced by licenses
➢
Copyleft licenses
➢
protect the freedoms for everyone
➢
e.g. GNU GPL (General Public License)
➢
Permissive licenses
➢
include the freedom to deny the freedoms for others
➢
e.g BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution)
→BSD code often in non-free closed source software (MS, Mac, ...)

10. 1998: “Open Source” sounds
better than “Free Software”?

11. 20
Free software: idealism
Open Source: pragmatism
(almost identical)
software categories
together:
Free Open Source Software (FOSS)
Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS)
Spanish: “software libre y codigo abierto”

12. Software categories
➢
Anti-features are features that users don’t want, including:
➢
Copy-protection
➢
DRM = Digital Rights/Restrictions Management
➢
Data lock-in because of secret file formats
➢
Time-limit / Planned obsolescence
➢
Artificial limitations (e.g. limited RAM, HD and max 3 concurrent programs in MS Windows Vista Home)
➢
Advertisements
➢
Tracking / Spyware

14. 1991 comp sci
student
Usenet posting to the
newsgroup
"comp.os.minix.":
“I'm doing a (free)
operating system (just a
hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for
386(486) AT clones.”

15. 13594 developers from >1300 companies
have contributed to Linux kernel

16. 25
Linus Torvalds
“Making Linux GPL'd
was definitely
the best thing I ever did.”

17. 26
“Open Source ... it's just a
superior way of working together
and generating code.”
“Like science, Open Source
allows people to build on a solid
base of previous knowledge,
without some silly hiding.”
“you can obviously never do as
well in a closed environment as
you can with open scientific
methods.”
Linus Torvalds (2007-03-19). The Torvalds
Transcript: Why I 'Absolutely Love' GPL Version 2.

18. "Congratulations, you're on the winning team.
Linux has crossed the chasm to mainstream adoption."
➢
Jeffrey Hammond, principal analyst at Forrester Research, LinuxCon, 2010
“Linux has come to dominate almost every category of
computing, with the exception of the desktop”
➢
Jim Zemlin, Linux Foundation Executive Director, 2011
“Linux is the benchmark of Quality”
➢
Coverity Report 2012

19. 100% of top 500 supercomputers run Linux

20. Android, a mobile version of Linux,
has overall largest market share

21. Android

22. Top 20 of 301 Linux Distributions
tracked by distrowatch.com

23. 33

24. FLOSS promoted by
➢
VLIR-UOS
➢
VLIRED
➢
DarkAIV, EsFacil, Esfacil Authority, Easybuild, ABCD…
➢
(Moodle, Dspace)
➢
UCI
➢
Nova Linux
➢
Cuba: Estrategia Maestra: Informatización 2016
➢
“10. Priorizar el empleo del Software Libre”

25. Werken met portfolio's
04/10/05 | pag. 48
Why use FLOSS?

26. Good reasons to
use FLOSS
➢
Stay in control
➢
Stay secure
➢
Avoid data lock in
➢
Avoid vendor lock in
➢
Interoperability
➢
Modularity
➢
Easy localization (including translation) and customization
➢
Most often cross platform
➢
Easier troubleshooting
➢
Sometimes better support
➢
Avoid license management and compliance issues
➢
Reduce costs
➢
Demanded when public funds are given

27. Good reasons to
develop FLOSS
➢
No need to start from scratch
➢
Network effects
➢
Get contributions from others
➢
Steer future developments
➢
Possibility to involve students
➢
Business opportunities

28. Sometimes we really need to free ourselves
from corporate brainwashing!
Example:
Don't use personal operating systems
in multi-user environments
W
hy?

29. Esperenza Computer Classroom with software sponsored by Microsoft
1 computer per user?

30. One (library catalog) computer per user?

31. 87
Free yourselfFree yourself
from dogmas!from dogmas!

33. (K12)LTSP
Linux Terminal Server Project
Networked classrooms
Fat server
runs the applications
Thin clients
visualize the applications
need no hard disk
can be 15 years old PC's

34. Regional example: Extremadura
➢
poorly developed region → economic revival
➢
based on FLOSS (customized GNU/LinEx)
➢
computer access for every student
➢
saved >18M € on initial 80,000 school computers
➢
total software cost: 1.08 Euro/PC/year
➢
bigger project
➢
stimuli for companies, centres for citizens
➢
economic revival -> European regional innovation award

36. Why are you not using
(only) FLOSS?

37. Perceived barriers?
➢
Following the herd?

38. Perceived barriers?
pre-installation of non-free software

39. Perceived barriers?
➢
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
about
➢
features?
➢
quality?
➢
sustainability?
➢
support?
➢
requirement to participate in
the community?

40. Perceived barriers?
➢
anti-competitive behaviour
➢
monopoly abuse
➢
secret formats
➢
secret protocols
➢
data and vendor lock-ins

41. Perceived barriers?
➢
transition costs
➢
limited in house expertise
➢
too much choice

42. When people can't judge the quality of something,
they look at the price,
because they expect price and quality to be correlated
Perceived barriers?

43. Example
You want to buy a good wine for the friend
who invited you to her house in CountryX.
Which wine do you buy?
= 10 coinsԵայրեն = 10 coins
= 20 coinsն = 10 coinsԵայրե
= 30 coinsեն = 10 coinsԵայր

44. = 10 coinsԵայրեն = 10 coins
= 20 coinsն = 10 coinsԵայրե
= 30 coinsեն = 10 coinsԵայր
What happens when the price changes?
=Եայրեն = 10 coins 25 coins
= 20 coinsն = 10 coinsԵայրե
= 30 coinsեն = 10 coinsԵայր

45. 149

46. FLOSS community partipation/creation
Cuban barriers & challenges?
➢
Internet connectivity limitations
➢
Embargo restrictions
➢
Local policies
➢
Autonomy versus local management
➢
License decisions?
➢
Spanish versus English?
➢
Culture & attitudes?

47. Research study
FLOSS knowledge, perceptions and adoption
in Flemish schools
2012, S. Froeliger, F. Questier

48. Context
➢
Belgian education is organized by communities
➢
Flanders: Flemish community / ministry of education
➢
Schools & teachers select software
➢
Government supports
➢
ICT coordinators
➢
FLOSS guide book
➢
Few FLOSS trainings
➢
Microsoft contract

49. 156
➢
Free software in
education.
➢
Published by Flemish
ministry of education,
under a free license.

50. Basis for conceptual model
➢
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology
➢
Theory of Reasoned Action
➢
Technology Acceptance Model
➢
Motivational Model
➢
Theory of Planned Behaviour
➢
Combined TAM & TPB
➢
Model of PC Utilization
➢
Innovation Diffusion Theory
➢
Social Cognitive Theory
➢
Innovation diffusion Model

51. innovation diffusion model
➢
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th edition). New York, NY: Free Press

52. UTAUT model

53. Our conceptual model

54. Validated acceptance model for
Free Software in (Flemish) schools

55. Do you think it is desirable
to use FLOSS in education?

56. Which free software
do you use at school?

57. Which free/non-free software
do you use at school?

58. What is your motivation
to use Free Software?

59. What is holding back the
adoption of FLOSS in your school?

60. 169
Conclusions
of the study
➢
FLOSS is being used, but not as a routine
➢
Lack of knowledge
➢
Misconceptions
➢
(Perceived) barriers
➢
Support needed!

61. 170
Recommendations
of the study
➢
For (teacher education) schools
➢
Develop FLOSS vision, plan, expertise
➢
Teach students how to share
➢
For government and managing structures
➢
Give central role to ICT-coordinators
➢
Create an expertise network
➢
Improve FLOSS information
➢
Define a FLOSS policy

62. 171
Strategies for institutional FLOSS migrations

63. 172
0. Allow innovators &
early adopters to use FLOSS
➢
Replace any institutional software
incompatible with FLOSS.

64. 173
1. Organize yourself
➢
Institutional FLOSS expertise center?
➢
Interuniversity FLOSS expertise center?
➢
FLOSS user group?
➢
...

65. 174
2. Create awareness
➢
Involve all stakeholders
➢
Including
➢
highest management
➢
teachers
➢
students

66. 175
3. Expertise & capacity building
➢
Resources for experimentation &
innovation

67. 176
4. Provide support &
sustainability
➢
Offer
➢
FLOSS repository
➢
local downloads of recommended FLOSS?
➢
Caveat: updates
➢
documentation
➢
training
→ certification

68. 5. Establish institutional
FLOSS policies
➢
Purchasing policies
➢
FLOSS, except if no good alternative
➢
Ask
➢
argumentation
➢
which alternatives considered
➢
Build or buy?
➢
Open standards
➢
Open courseware
➢
Free & Open Licenses

69. When to migrate?
➢
Time transitions
➢
at the end of existing contracts
➢
at hardware / software upgrade times
➢
Consider migrating in phases
1. servers
2. desktop applications
→ multi-platform
→ web-based
3. desktop OS

70. Key success factors
for migration & implementation
➢
Resources to experiment
➢
An evidence-based choice
➢
Involvement of both technical and non-technical users in the
selection process
➢
Choice for a new system which is in all aspects at least as good
and easy as the previous one
➢
Reporting detailed migration plan to management and get their
approval and support
➢
In-house expertise with open source software and communities
➢
Contact with the developers and users community
➢
Constant communication with all stakeholders

71. Advantages of being a
contributing community member
➢
Co-decide the direction of development
➢
Create extensions
➢
user requested
➢
research driven innovation
➢
More contacts with other educational institutions
➢
Programming projects for students
➢
Better knowledge of the system
➢
Better trouble solving
➢
Possibilities for grants

72. My proposal of VLIR-UOS software policy
(not approved yet)
➢
VLIR-UOS wants to encourage the use of Free Libre Open
Source Software (FLOSS) in the South partner institutions.
➢
VLIR-UOS will only support the implementation and
training of FLOSS, unless proprietary software is
demonstrated to be significantly superior and necessary for
the required tasks. Whenever VLIR-UOS funds are used
for proprietary software, reasons must be provided
(including a list of FLOSS alternatives considered) and
approved by [the ICT/OLL expert group or the VLIR-UOS
FLOSS Advisory Board].

73. My proposal of VLIR-UOS software policy
(not approved yet)
➢
In the case VLIR-UOS funded hardware for South partner
institutions comes with proprietary software pre-installed, it must
be demonstrated that the maximum is done to convince the
manufacturer or supplier to only deliver FLOSS. Suppliers that
are willing to provide hardware with FLOSS are to be preferred
above those that don't.
➢
Software developed with VLIR-UOS funds must be published
under a FLOSS license, where possible, in order to maximize
its usefulness for other developing countries.
➢
VLIR-UOS advises new IUC programmes to include a work
package around FLOSS awareness creation, expertise building,
policy definition, training, support and implementation.

74. Open Standards
➢
Open process
➢
Free / Open Access to description
➢
No secrets
➢
No patents or patents with
➢
unrestricted royalty-free implementation
➢
non-assertion promise
➢
Preferably available in multiple complete (open)
implementations

75. File formats
General preferences
➢
Standard > specification > secret
➢
Openly published > copyrighted & paywalled
➢
Public domain > patented
➢
Open license > proprietary license
➢
Usable with FLOSS software > propietary software
➢
Usable on multiple platforms
➢
Readable in browsers
➢
High quality, high efficiency

76. File format recommendations
➢
Avoid restricted formats
➢
Don’t annoy other people with restricted formats
➢
If others don’t need to edit your files, consider PDF
➢
Be aware of macro-viruses in MS Office files
➢
Don’t use raster based graphical editors when you
need vector based graphical editors

79. OpenPatentOffice.org
Protect your freedom to operate
by sharing your innovative ideas

80. 190
DAREDARE
TO SHARETO SHARE

81. Credits
➢
Photo Linus Torvalds: GFDL. Permission of Martin Streicher, Editor-in-Chief,
LINUXMAG.com
➢
Picture (open source business strategies) from IT Manager's Journal, may 2004,
with personal permission from John Koenig
➢
Screenshot http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/
➢
Cartoon Open Source Fish by openssoft
➢
T-Shirt “Best things are life are free” by http://zazzle.com
➢
Drupalcon DC 2009 copyright by “Chris” (Flickr)
➢
Screenshot Acquia
➢
Internet map by The Opte Project, CC-by
➢
Open arrow, CC-by-nd by ChuckCoker
➢
Share matches CC-by-nc-nd by Josh Harper
➢
Question mark CC-by by Stefan Baudy
➢
Social Icons by Iconshock http://www.iconshock.com/social-icons/

82. This presentation was made with 100% Free Software
No animals were harmed
Questier.com
Frederik AT Questier.com
www.linkedin.com/in/fquestie
www.diigo.com/user/frederikquestier
www.slideshare.net/Frederik_Questier
Q
uestions?
¿Preguntas?