098 - On Open Source Collaboration

Zengineering: A Philosophy of Science, Technology, Art & Engineering

Howdy, Zengineers!

Did you know everything you do all day runs on software? Yup. It’s true. Everything. Well … I mean, not EVERYTHING, but pretty much everything. Your car. Your electricity. Your phone. Your computer. Your TV. Even our dishwashers and blenders, doorbells and lights, all run on software. There’s no way around it.

Software is powerful and enables the technologies we’ve all become accustomed to. But what’s so unique about it? Well, one of the primary drivers behind software’s viral spread is that once you digitize something, you can share it with everyone at almost no additional cost. The same cannot be said about the tires on my car, or the wood used to make my front door. Since sharing software is virtually free, free-software has come to rule the world. And, that’s Open Source. Software anyone can access, anyone can build upon, and anyone can get the benefit of… often, at no cost.

The engineers and designers behind the software that runs the world realized decades ago that innovation is enabled when these software solutions are shared openly and freely. Business can grow faster. Money can be made more efficiently. Lives can be made better… all because we share with one another, and collaborate on the world’s big problems through Open Source Software.

What a joy, you might say. So smart. So wonderful. I can’t believe it. Well … believe it. Your phone may have software on it that you paid for, but your phone simply would not work and, quite frankly, would not even exist, if it weren’t for people AND BUSINESSES freely sharing critical softwares systems with each other. This revolution is starting to come to other industries, as well, as the marginal cost of other technologies continues to be driven down. What an innovative and functional time to be alive. Who uses those words to express the thrill of life? Nerds, baby. Er… I mean, Zengineers!!

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as you enjoy all the Open Source Software enabled technologies that you’re using right now.

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Visit our website for more episodes: http://zengineeringpodcast.com

Cheers,

Adam & Brian

Show Notes

Wikipedia: Open Source Software: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

Wired’s Guide to Open Source: https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-open-source-software/

Unix v. Linux: https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/unix-vs-linux/#:~:text=Linux%20refers%20to%20the%20kernel,family%20of%20derived%20operating%20systems

Top 10 Open Source Hall of Famers: https://www.cio.com/article/3404462/top-10-open-source-hall-of-famers.html

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/zengineering-podcast/support