Autosave: 2025-03-27 17:52:56

neuron/14b2609c-4c92-4980-96d4-543ba5a9d0be/d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+tags: [history, ecopolsoc, FOSS]
+created: Thursday, March 27, 2025
+---
+
+# d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source
+
+For the decade or so after Stallman's "Initial Announcement" of GNU in 1983,
+free software and the philosophy behind it remained the preserve of the
+technical underground. During these years, the phrase "open source" did not
+exist.
+
+Many engineers were using and contributing to free software in their free-time
+and surreptitiously using it in the corporate context but there was little
+awareness of it amongst the business class. If they did know about GNU-Linux
+they did not see it as a viable alternative to proprietary software, due to the
+lack of licensing, customer support and the misapprehension that the product
+would be inferior.
+
+The turning point came when
+[Netscape](c301a0b3-1d8_Mosaic_Netscape_and_Browser_Wars.md), in a last ditch
+effort to resist Microsoft's obliteration of their market, made their
+source-code open. This caught the attention of the corporate class and the
+additional media attention led to a greater interest amongst capitalists
+generally.
+
+They quickly surmised that this could be an avenue of profit maximisation:
+free-labour, no licensing costs etc. As part of this process, free software was
+rebranded as "open source", all the better to calm investors' worries about its
+socialistic flavour having misread "free" as meaning "for no cost".
+
+Interestingly Microsoft publicly disparaged Linux and free software generally in
+public but an employee leaked internal memoranda which showed them to be most
+concerned. They led a vigorous PR campaign of disinformation about free
+software, tying it to the emerging phenomenon of "illegal file sharing". This
+was propitious timing, as it coincided with the passing of the DMCA (Digital
+Millennium Copyright Act) in the United States which introduced punitive
+punishment for those caught distributing proprietary media and software.
+
+So this is really the origin of hackers' antipathy to Microsoft and it's
+interesting to reflect on this today where Microsoft has very effectively
+subsumed "open source" into itself, realising it couldn't beat it on its own
+terms. Most notably with their acquisition of GitHub.

neuron/14b2609c-4c92-4980-96d4-543ba5a9d0be/index.md

@@ -13,12 +13,13 @@ computer science.
 
 <a href="https://thomasabishop.github.io/eolas/tags">View tags</a>
  
-**Build ID:** d64aa559-4490-4b05-bfd9-4fd535f23109
+**Build ID:** 14b2609c-4c92-4980-96d4-543ba5a9d0be
 
-**Published:** Wed 26 Mar 2025 19:03:12
+**Published:** Thu 27 Mar 2025 17:52:51
 
 ### Recent edits 
 
+- [[d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source]] 
 - [[c8820974_Tor_prioritising_uptake]] 
 - [[What_can_the_ISP_see]] 
 - [[Code_Craft_The_Practice_Of_Writing_Excellent_Code]] 
@@ -38,10 +39,9 @@ computer science.
 - [[Capturing_program_error_in_Bash]] 
 - [[Check_if_value_null_in_Bash]] 
 - [[Associative_arrays_maps_in_Bash]] 
-- [[Case_statements_in_Bash]] 
 
 
-### All notes (545) 
+### All notes (546) 
 
 - [[0716531c_rewilding_the_internet]] 
 - [[241fe1a3_the_Web_versus_modem_BBSs]] 
@@ -570,6 +570,7 @@ computer science.
 - [[c8820974_Tor_prioritising_uptake]] 
 - [[c9d7492f_requerimiento]] 
 - [[cfbef1c4_web_precursors]] 
+- [[d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source]] 
 - [[e383b8b3_nginx_vs_traefik]] 
 - [[e470bf3d_IMPs_in_the_ARPANET]] 
 - [[ecec56e6_precursors_to_search_engines]] 

neuron/14b2609c-4c92-4980-96d4-543ba5a9d0be/tags.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ unlisted: true
 ---
 
 # Tags
-[algebra](./tags#algebra), [algorithms](./tags#algorithms), [analogue](./tags#analogue), [android](./tags#android), [APIs](./tags#APIs), [arch-linux](./tags#arch-linux), [arithmetic](./tags#arithmetic), [ARPA](./tags#ARPA), [ARPANET](./tags#ARPANET), [awk](./tags#awk), [AWS](./tags#AWS), [aws-lambda](./tags#aws-lambda), [binary](./tags#binary), [bulletin-boards](./tags#bulletin-boards), [bus](./tags#bus), [C](./tags#C), [computer-architecture](./tags#computer-architecture), [computer-history](./tags#computer-history), [containerization](./tags#containerization), [CPU](./tags#CPU), [cryptography](./tags#cryptography), [csv](./tags#csv), [data-structures](./tags#data-structures), [data-types](./tags#data-types), [databases](./tags#databases), [design-patterns](./tags#design-patterns), [disks](./tags#disks), [docker](./tags#docker), [dynamodb](./tags#dynamodb), [ecopolsoc](./tags#ecopolsoc), [electricity](./tags#electricity), [electromagnetism](./tags#electromagnetism), [electronics](./tags#electronics), [encryption](./tags#encryption), [exponents](./tags#exponents), [file-system](./tags#file-system), [firewalls](./tags#firewalls), [fleeting](./tags#fleeting), [fractions](./tags#fractions), [git](./tags#git), [graphql](./tags#graphql), [hardware](./tags#hardware), [IaC](./tags#IaC), [internet](./tags#internet), [javascript](./tags#javascript), [jest](./tags#jest), [json](./tags#json), [JSON](./tags#JSON), [kernel](./tags#kernel), [Linux](./tags#Linux), [linux](./tags#linux), [literature](./tags#literature), [logic](./tags#logic), [logic-gates](./tags#logic-gates), [memory](./tags#memory), [Microsoft](./tags#Microsoft), [middleware](./tags#middleware), [modems](./tags#modems), [mongo-db](./tags#mongo-db), [mongoose](./tags#mongoose), [nand-to-tetris](./tags#nand-to-tetris), [network-protocols](./tags#network-protocols), [networks](./tags#networks), [node-js](./tags#node-js), [number-systems](./tags#number-systems), [number-theory](./tags#number-theory), [OOP](./tags#OOP), [operating-systems](./tags#operating-systems), [packet-switching](./tags#packet-switching), [physics](./tags#physics), [ports](./tags#ports), [prealgebra](./tags#prealgebra), [privacy](./tags#privacy), [procedural](./tags#procedural), [propositional-logic](./tags#propositional-logic), [protocols](./tags#protocols), [proxies](./tags#proxies), [python](./tags#python), [question](./tags#question), [raspberry-pi](./tags#raspberry-pi), [react](./tags#react), [recursion](./tags#recursion), [regex](./tags#regex), [REST](./tags#REST), [S3](./tags#S3), [server-management](./tags#server-management), [set-theory](./tags#set-theory), [shell](./tags#shell), [SNS](./tags#SNS), [sound](./tags#sound), [SQL](./tags#SQL), [SQLite](./tags#SQLite), [SQS](./tags#SQS), [ssh](./tags#ssh), [storage](./tags#storage), [surveillance-capitalism](./tags#surveillance-capitalism), [systemd](./tags#systemd), [systems-programming](./tags#systems-programming), [testing](./tags#testing), [theorems](./tags#theorems), [theory-of-computation](./tags#theory-of-computation), [time](./tags#time), [Tor](./tags#Tor), [Turing](./tags#Turing), [typescript](./tags#typescript), [unix](./tags#unix), [USB](./tags#USB), [usb](./tags#usb), [VPN](./tags#VPN), [world-wide-web](./tags#world-wide-web), [yaml](./tags#yaml), 
+[algebra](./tags#algebra), [algorithms](./tags#algorithms), [analogue](./tags#analogue), [android](./tags#android), [APIs](./tags#APIs), [arch-linux](./tags#arch-linux), [arithmetic](./tags#arithmetic), [ARPA](./tags#ARPA), [ARPANET](./tags#ARPANET), [awk](./tags#awk), [AWS](./tags#AWS), [aws-lambda](./tags#aws-lambda), [binary](./tags#binary), [bulletin-boards](./tags#bulletin-boards), [bus](./tags#bus), [C](./tags#C), [computer-architecture](./tags#computer-architecture), [computer-history](./tags#computer-history), [containerization](./tags#containerization), [CPU](./tags#CPU), [cryptography](./tags#cryptography), [csv](./tags#csv), [data-structures](./tags#data-structures), [data-types](./tags#data-types), [databases](./tags#databases), [design-patterns](./tags#design-patterns), [disks](./tags#disks), [docker](./tags#docker), [dynamodb](./tags#dynamodb), [ecopolsoc](./tags#ecopolsoc), [electricity](./tags#electricity), [electromagnetism](./tags#electromagnetism), [electronics](./tags#electronics), [encryption](./tags#encryption), [exponents](./tags#exponents), [file-system](./tags#file-system), [firewalls](./tags#firewalls), [fleeting](./tags#fleeting), [FOSS](./tags#FOSS), [fractions](./tags#fractions), [git](./tags#git), [graphql](./tags#graphql), [hardware](./tags#hardware), [history](./tags#history), [IaC](./tags#IaC), [internet](./tags#internet), [javascript](./tags#javascript), [jest](./tags#jest), [json](./tags#json), [JSON](./tags#JSON), [kernel](./tags#kernel), [Linux](./tags#Linux), [linux](./tags#linux), [literature](./tags#literature), [logic](./tags#logic), [logic-gates](./tags#logic-gates), [memory](./tags#memory), [Microsoft](./tags#Microsoft), [middleware](./tags#middleware), [modems](./tags#modems), [mongo-db](./tags#mongo-db), [mongoose](./tags#mongoose), [nand-to-tetris](./tags#nand-to-tetris), [network-protocols](./tags#network-protocols), [networks](./tags#networks), [node-js](./tags#node-js), [number-systems](./tags#number-systems), [number-theory](./tags#number-theory), [OOP](./tags#OOP), [operating-systems](./tags#operating-systems), [packet-switching](./tags#packet-switching), [physics](./tags#physics), [ports](./tags#ports), [prealgebra](./tags#prealgebra), [privacy](./tags#privacy), [procedural](./tags#procedural), [propositional-logic](./tags#propositional-logic), [protocols](./tags#protocols), [proxies](./tags#proxies), [python](./tags#python), [question](./tags#question), [raspberry-pi](./tags#raspberry-pi), [react](./tags#react), [recursion](./tags#recursion), [regex](./tags#regex), [REST](./tags#REST), [S3](./tags#S3), [server-management](./tags#server-management), [set-theory](./tags#set-theory), [shell](./tags#shell), [SNS](./tags#SNS), [sound](./tags#sound), [SQL](./tags#SQL), [SQLite](./tags#SQLite), [SQS](./tags#SQS), [ssh](./tags#ssh), [storage](./tags#storage), [surveillance-capitalism](./tags#surveillance-capitalism), [systemd](./tags#systemd), [systems-programming](./tags#systems-programming), [testing](./tags#testing), [theorems](./tags#theorems), [theory-of-computation](./tags#theory-of-computation), [time](./tags#time), [Tor](./tags#Tor), [Turing](./tags#Turing), [typescript](./tags#typescript), [unix](./tags#unix), [USB](./tags#USB), [usb](./tags#usb), [VPN](./tags#VPN), [world-wide-web](./tags#world-wide-web), [yaml](./tags#yaml), 
 
 ### algebra 
 
@@ -336,6 +336,7 @@ unlisted: true
 - [[a771a6d9_attributes_of_internet_enclosure]] 
 - [[Bauman_quote]] 
 - [[c9d7492f_requerimiento]] 
+- [[d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source]] 
 - [[f6564af9_AOL_and_early_internet_enclosure]] 
 - [[fbbfbc32-political-accommodation-inveigelment-surveillance-capitalism]] 
 - [[Weaving_the_Web_Berners_Lee]] 
@@ -395,6 +396,9 @@ unlisted: true
 - [[385af4b4_Baran_distributed_networks]] 
 - [[861cc26e_ARPA_origins]] 
 - [[cfbef1c4_web_precursors]] 
+### FOSS 
+
+- [[d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source]] 
 ### fractions 
 
 - [[Add_Subtract_Fractions]] 
@@ -442,6 +446,9 @@ unlisted: true
 - [[Motherboard]] 
 - [[Network_card]] 
 - [[USB-C]] 
+### history 
+
+- [[d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source]] 
 ### IaC 
 
 - [[Terraform]] 

zk/d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+tags: [history, ecopolsoc, FOSS]
+created: Thursday, March 27, 2025
+---
+
+# d212acdb_from_free-software_to_open_source
+
+For the decade or so after Stallman's "Initial Announcement" of GNU in 1983,
+free software and the philosophy behind it remained the preserve of the
+technical underground. During these years, the phrase "open source" did not
+exist.
+
+Many engineers were using and contributing to free software in their free-time
+and surreptitiously using it in the corporate context but there was little
+awareness of it amongst the business class. If they did know about GNU-Linux
+they did not see it as a viable alternative to proprietary software, due to the
+lack of licensing, customer support and the misapprehension that the product
+would be inferior.
+
+The turning point came when
+[Netscape](./c301a0b3-1d8_Mosaic_Netscape_and_Browser_Wars.md), in a last ditch
+effort to resist Microsoft's obliteration of their market, made their
+source-code open. This caught the attention of the corporate class and the
+additional media attention led to a greater interest amongst capitalists
+generally.
+
+They quickly surmised that this could be an avenue of profit maximisation:
+free-labour, no licensing costs etc. As part of this process, free software was
+rebranded as "open source", all the better to calm investors' worries about its
+socialistic flavour having misread "free" as meaning "for no cost".
+
+Interestingly Microsoft publicly disparaged Linux and free software generally in
+public but an employee leaked internal memoranda which showed them to be most
+concerned. They led a vigorous PR campaign of disinformation about free
+software, tying it to the emerging phenomenon of "illegal file sharing". This
+was propitious timing, as it coincided with the passing of the DMCA (Digital
+Millennium Copyright Act) in the United States which introduced punitive
+punishment for those caught distributing proprietary media and software.
+
+So this is really the origin of hackers' antipathy to Microsoft and it's
+interesting to reflect on this today where Microsoft has very effectively
+subsumed "open source" into itself, realising it couldn't beat it on its own
+terms. Most notably with their acquisition of GitHub.