Collaborative software production is another name for open source software and there are a plethora of them out there. Although I haven’t actually programmed any open source software, I have used a couple of the fruits of many many peoples labour in the form of web browsers and add on apps.
The open source initiative website has a great and very in depth definition of what exactly open source is:
Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:
1. Free Redistribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
2. Source Code
The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
3. Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
7. Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
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(often pronounced LIH-nuhks with a short "i") is a Unix-like operating system that was designed to provide personal computer users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and usually more expensive Unix systems. Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast-performing system. Linux's kernel (the central part of the operating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in Finland. To complete the operating system, Torvalds and other team members made use of system components developed by members of the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project.
Although open source operating systems such as linux were originally shunned in favour of Microsoft’s Windows, or relegated to the more technical “nerd” sector, it become more and more appealing to a wider market. A recent BBC article reported that the country of Brazil is working on a draft decree that would force all of their government to switch to the open source OS. And the number one reason for the switch? Cost. While it costs approximately $500 per machine to install and run Windows, it costs nothing to use Linux. And this is important to a poorer nation and its peoples.
And it also has repercussions for the wider technology community. As Jose Luiz de Cerqueira Cesar Global Organisation for Free Software states, “I think free software will encourage Mr Gates to reinvent his business”.
The open source software that I use the most is the firefox web browser. it’s a widely available free web browser rivalling Internet Explorer. The operating system has been made public and as a result, there has been an explosion of “apps” (also free) that can be used to enhance the user experience.
One of the main benefits of open source is the fact that users can get what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. Using the firefox example, say a user wanted an app or add on that would add a button on the toolbar that could, when pressed, toggle flash on and off on a web page to make it load faster. They can either do a search hoping that someone has already made that (chances are high that if it’s a common need, then someone’s already made it), or they can go about making it themselves (using something like the greasemonkey script) provided they have the expertise.
Apple is / has released something called the software developers kit (SDK). The kit contains the tools that allow developers to create native applications for the iPhone and iPod touch where it will mediate between the programmer and the iPhone operating system. This is big news for the iphone and itouch, creating not only a platform for open source software, but a tool to use / access it.
(image credit)Jobs says: We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
Dr. Alex Bruns defines produsage as In collaborative communities the creation of shared content takes place in a networked, participatory environment which breaks down the boundaries between producers and consumers and instead enables all participants to be users as well as producers of information and knowledge - frequently in a hybrid role of produser where usage is necessarily also productive. (link)
He goes on to outline four distinct characteristics of produsage that contrast with traditional commercial production.
1. no direct problem solving, rather solutions to problems arise because there are more people that can find a solution. ‘in the bottom-up holoptic model participants can self-nominate as contributors to specific problem-solving activities as their interest is triggered; the more participants do so, and the more such activities run in parallel at the same time, the more likely it is that a solution is found’ (link).
2. In direct contrast to traditional commercial production where a project manager is in control of where and how participants will contribute, produsage sees a more open community where people can choose to participate when, where and how they choose.
3. “granularity of tasks” – means if the project can be divided into individual modules, and if the modules further break down into distinct tasks requiring a limited set of skills and a limited degree of user investment, this boosts both the potential for the development of solutions through probabilistic approaches (as trial-and-error experiments become less costly for participants) and the equipotentiality of contributors (as it becomes easier for all community members to participate). (link).
4. the notion of sharing, not owning content. This flies in the face of traditional commerce where business and market based economies relies on retaining ownership. Whereas produsage is more open, sharing and has full disclosure.
Terry Flew explains that we first need to look at the three levels of understanding technologies:Understanding technologies not simply as physical objects tools and artefacts.Recognising the content they produce and their contexts of use.And the systems of knowledge that accompany their use and development.
Once we understand that technology can be merely a tool used to create something or interact with others in society and thus impact on, and enhance culture. When this starts happening, we start to see the role of the technology changing from being a tool, to becoming part of the culture itself. Think about myspace of facebook. These technologies have augmented culture and in the same right, become a form of culture themselves.
'The concept of cultural technologies is a way of understanding technologies not simply as material forms that impact upon culture, but rather as themselves cultural forms' (Flew T.2005)
Langdon (in Flew) sums it up by saying that "technologies are not merely aids to human activity but also powerful forces acting to reshape that activity and its meaning".
Flew, T. (2005). New Media
