Introductory Essay

Charlie asked the class to answer a few questions about Open Source Software and also how technology might change our behavior.

1) Why are you taking this class? What particular motivations do you have for learning about open source software?
2) Do you believe that technology can be used to change our collective behavior? Is it happening now?
     Support your position with examples and/or analysis.
3) Do you believe that technology should be used to change our collective behavior?

       I am very excited about this class. All I know is what little bit I heard in a speech by Eric Raymond in the fall of 1999 at Earlham College. Open source software is young and I see a chance to get involved early. I want to know why people are excited about open source. I have been told that open source will benefit me as a consumer, a user and a programmer but I want to know how? I am looking forward to learning whole process of writing and publishing Open Source Software. I have a little understanding of the differences between open source and licensed software but not enough that I could pass on to my other peers. I would also like to hear some of the disadvantages and why people might not like the idea. The whole movement sounds like a big step up from licensed software so where is this going to be in the next 20 or 50 years. Is it going to last and if so how much better is it going to be than other Operating Systems. This class should also give me a background about Linux and how it relates to the Open Source Movement. There are a lot of people who are not computer smart that struggle with using Windows. So in order for open source to become popular it will need to be just as user friendly or more than its rival. I have heard a lot about Linux at Earlham and in the news. I would like to start using it as my personal OS but I don't feel like I know enough about changing configurations to use it as my primary system. I hope in learning about open source that I will also feel more comfortable about how Linux works and can be used.
       The easiest way to answer the question about technology changing our collective behavior is to just say, YES! There are several reasons why I believe that is has and will effect us in the future. Software has been created to make our lives easier in some way or another by doing a task that a human might find undesirable. We see computers as machines that can increase performance and efficiency in little things such as solving arithmetic problems. A negative problem with the over use of the technology is less people are inclined to do everyday task on our own. At the same time I believe that that our curiosity drives us to find better ways of increasing gas mileage in cars. These are really just a couple of off the wall examples. I would love to live to reach a hundred though so I can see where this technological boom is going to take us in another 50 or 100 years.