Heading into a long Independence Day holiday weekend, take a moment to give thanks to the many open source projects that make your days and work a little bit easier
Not to get all patriotic on you, but I wanted to deliver a simple message as many of us head into this 4th of July holiday weekend. We are celebrating American independence (and our Canadian friends just celebrated Canadian independence). The idea of being free to make our own choices runs deep in our culture. In that spirit take a moment to reflect on what the FOSS (free and open source software) movement has meant to you and to the IT industry.
Over the last 20 years it has had a profound impact on not just the software world. The open source philosophy is being applied to bring about change and independence in many different fields. It’s ripples are being felt in the worlds of science, engineering, bio-tech, space exploration, green industries and elsewhere.
No, I am not going to rant about software tyranny and lock in and stuff like that. But I do ask you to remember that many of the open source tools you use are not necessarily managed by big venture backed companies with millions in the bank. Many software projects are run by a small cadre of developers and enthusiasts who put countless time and effort into constantly improving their projects. The money they make on it is usually plowed back into new tools and materials.
Believe me the overwhelming majority are not getting rich. So go check out the Sourceforge page or other home of these software projects. There is usually a link to make a donation to the developers. You don’t have to give a lot (but if you want to you can). But even a small gift of 5 or 10 dollars adds up when lots of people do it.
It will at least help defray some of the out-of-pocket costs that many of these developers incur. When you make that donation, reflect on what things would be like without open source and how much more money you would be paying for software that may not act the way you want.
The open source movement is truly a global endeavor at this point. But its principles and foundation seem to fit well with the “Spirit of ’76”. So enjoy your holiday weekend and remember to thank your open source developer.
