Beyond Free/Open Source Software

Marco Fioretti (marco@digifreedom.net) September 2010, University of Vlora, Albania
http://mfioretti.com Free Software in Balkans Conference
http:/stop.zona-m.net Some rights reserved 1
Beyond Free/Open Source Software
How can open formats, data and digital services make
governments and society more effective, save public money
and stimulate local economy?
Marco Fioretti
http://mfioretti.com
http://stop.zona-m.net

Marco Fioretti
Freelance writer, activist and teacher focused on open digital standards, Free
Software, digital technologies and the their relations and impact on
education, ethics, civil rights and environmental issues
●Writer for Linux Journal, Linux Format and other magazines
●Member of:
● OpenDocument Fellowship
● Digistan.org
Author introduction

Free/Open Source Software is wonderful
But FOSS advocacy and usage can generate lots
of frustration
.....if you make of it the final goal of your action
just because it is cool, fast,gratis, flexible, robust
etc...
Some risks associated to FOSS

Possible consequences: many migrations to FOSS, both
private and in Public Administrations, fail because of
Weird, obscure, overlooked technical issues, that often are unrelated
to software licenses(e.g. Spreadsheets using proprietary macros
where there was NO real need for any macro)
Cultural inertia
Lack of long term planning and/or competent technicians
Complete irrelevance today of some essential FOSS characteristics
(who cares about month-long uptimes on laptops?)
Some risks associated to FOSS (2)

It depends on the real nature of
software
Why does FOSS advocacy fail sometimes?

What is that makes software unique?
Secondly, your new car needs not be "compatible" with the cars that your neighbours or co-workers
use.
“New and old car in Prishtina Market”
www.flickr.com/photos/blandm/297556309/There are some big potential differences for
society between production of software and that
of most material goods: when your car breaks or
spare parts for it go out of production, there is no
retroactive damage.
Your next car won't have to be compatible with
everything you did with the old one: all the
memories of all the trips made with your old car,
all the business relationships built thanks to it,
will still be there.

Why and how is software dangerous?
If a software maker goes bankrupt or simply
discontinues a product, instead, it can put out
of your reach for good all the files you
created with it.
If that's the case, the damages caused
through software have one characteristic
common, even if in an infinitely less serious
way, with those caused by nuclear plants
without waste management policies, or by
depleted uranium weapons:
It will hurt even people who weren't there
when it was used, for a long time after it was
used.
Using software in the wrong way, you also
limit the freedom of choice of everybody
else.

Software is only a tool
In and by itself, source code has very little value, if it
is not used to generate executable programs, that is
software tools
We use tools do do things that we actually need to do
We don't do things just as an excuse to build and use
some tools
Why does FOSS advocacy fail sometimes?

The file format specification is all you need to write
software able to manage that file format
Consequence: software programs are like pens, file
formats are like alphabets
Remember: we use software to handle data, not the
opposite. So we must learn to think first about our
actual needs and data, and only after that to software
Let's now look at file formats

If a digital document is in a really open format that any
programmer can read and use, it really doesn't matter if the
software used to read or write that document is proprietary or
open. The documents remain fully accessible in both cases
But if a document is written in a secret file format (like all the
formats of Microsoft Office are!!!) it is only possible to use that
document as long as the proprietary software that knows that
secret format is available
Relationship between software and file formats

If what matters is our data and their formats, the medium/long term
unescapable consequence, even when there are no laws against
software piracy, or when they aren't enforced, is that:
Pirating software is a very stupid, very
counterproductive thing to do!!!
At least if you care at all about the data that you are creating or
managing with the pirated software
When the software starts existing, your data are lost
Whenever a new version of that software arrives, you may be
forced to buy a new computer
A word about software piracy

Real world example: Autocad vs engineering
Computer Aided Design (CAD) has been THE way to design or model
complex any kind of 3D products for decades
One of the most popular CAD products is Autocad from Autodesk:
AutoCAD is found in 85% of the businesses and schools that design,
document and manufacture.. it is used in architecture, interior design, shop
fit-outs, construction, engineering, landscape design, product design and
manufacture, naval and aeronautical design, piping and cabling...
Source: www.jidaw.com/certarticles/autocadcareer.html and www.wikinvest.com/stock/Autodesk_(ADSK))

Real world example: Autocad vs engineering (2)
Source: www.jidaw.com/certarticles/autocadcareer.html and www.wikinvest.com/stock/Autodesk_(ADSK))
In the 1990’s, more than two billions private and public projects (mechanical parts, furniture, buildings,
bridges...) were already stored in the DWG file format of AutoCAD
In 1998, several competitors launched cheaper products based on an equivalent format
AutoDesk’s advertising campaign focused on reminding that only AutoDesk’s products were 100% capable of
keeping existing projects completely accessible
Besides the cost, the Autodesk software for reading, writing, and displaying DWG files:
came under a "selective licensing" program
supported the writing of only the most recent versions of AutoCAD DWG
had no public specification that would permit independent development
Source: www.opendesign.com/about/whtpaper/whynot.htm from the Open Design Alliance
Update 2009: “we have exactly these problems with DWG, and the Open Design Alliance does not help, because their DWG toolkit is
not open source, they have restrictive licensing terms and better terms are not affordable for us” Source: Benjamin Ducke, Oxford
Archaeology Consultant

Open data are Public Sector Information (PSI) regarding
public procedures, facts and services:
Addresses, maps, bus time tables, city budgets, health and school statistics,
energy consumption, contracts and other public documents...
PSI data are open when they are:
Technically (file format!) and legally (license) open
Raw (e.g. editable file formats like Excel instead of read-only ones
like PDF)
Easily linkable to other PSI data from other sources
What are Open Data?

Because they can:
Save both public and private money
Stimulate the local economy (even outside the sw industry):
Example: WebHusets.dk helps home owners to evaluate how
much energy they can save if they remodel →
More work for local programmers and carpenters, plumbers...
Privatize public services but in the right way: transparent,
fair, accessible for everybody
Reshape public organizations
Why are Open Data useful?

What is Open Government?
Is Open Government something like e-government, that is
performing government services and operations much more
efficiently thanks to software, other digital/electronic technologies
and the World Wide Web?
Is it using only Free/Open Source Software on computers belonging
to Public Administrations, or running public services?
Is it “transparency”, as in “publishing online all public raw data and
official documents”?

What is Open Government? (2)
The short answer to the three previous question is “not necessarily”
Using computers doesn't automatically make services more efficient
(remember the '90s promises on the “paperless office”)
Some Italian judges complained that the arrival of computers in legal
firms is one of the many reasons why trials usually take years:
Typewritten legal briefs couldn't be very long
Computer cut-n-paste makes it possible to produce in a few minutes
a 3-thousand page brief that will take the judge busy for months

What is Open Government? FOSS?
In and by itself, using only Free/Open Source software on government
computers gives citizens no extra guarantees at all, as far as democracy or
civil rights are concerned:
You can build the perfect police state using ONLY
“Free as in Freedom” software
Access to source code is only meaningful if you also have physical
access to the computer that (supposedly) is running it.

What is Open Government? Open online data?
Having online data that prove that some public official misbehaved or that
public money is not spent properly is not enough unless it comes with:
Always following the right technical standards
Real freedom of speech
Efficient police and justice bodies
Clear law on accountability of public officials
If these things are missing, transparency could simply generate
powerlessness and refusal of engaging in politics
Cfr http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/27/technology-for-transparency-review-part-ii/

When transparency is not enough: 2 examples
From http://commons.globalintegrity.org/2010/05/openness-is-not-enough-evidence-of.html
after the first general elections in the country, many public documents donated
to the publicly accessible National Archives sat there completely ignored for 13
years. When a journalist used them in 2006 to report corruption there was only
one practical aftermath: the political parties terminated donations of
documents to the National Archives.
Cadaster data recently opened in another country made it much easier for
richer people with fast Internet access and high schooling to claim
possession online of land parcels belonging to other, poorer people without
connectivity

So, what can Open Government be?
Implementation of laws, regulations and ICT procedures that
Save private and public money and time, stimulating economy
(easy)
Bring transparency and honesty in central and local government
Much more difficult, but not for the reasons you may
think: because it is only useful if MANY citizens use it
Note/provocation: much of the above could be done just as
effectively (even if at probably higher costs) even with proprietary
software, but not with proprietary file formats

Free SW, equal opportunities and priorities
What is better or at least more urgent for all citizens?
University or government server that runs proprietary software to
distribute documents in OpenDocument or other open file formats, or
standard-compliant websites accessible with any browser?
The same servers running on Linux/Apache, but using proprietary
web technology that only some browsers can use, or distributing
public documents in proprietary formats that only expensive
computers (regardless of their operating system) can read?

How can FOSS make government more efficient?
Software can help a lot to make government and society more
open...
If and when you add it at the end of your work or advocacy
First redesign some organization, find out what is the best way for it to
do what it really needs to do and solve actual problems
Only when you've done that, ask yourself: what is the software
that can best support this way of working?
Almost always, FOSS will be the answer anyway. But it will be much
more acceptable if presented in this way, at the end

Conclusions
Software is just a tool
Practically nobody in the world cares about software
programming, that is having personal access to source
code
Consequence: advocating FOSS for the sake of FOSS
in government, Universities and schools can be very
counterproductive

Conclusions (2)
FOSS is important for Open Government and Education
But open formats are more important
And open PSI data are even more important
And the most important thing of all are:
EDUCATION and ENGAGEMENT!
(especially of non-programmers)
To help all citizens to see and use the real advantages of all
open digital technologies

Resources and final greetings
Why Open digital standards matter in Open Government,
http://stop.zona-m.net
Impact, economical and social impacts of file formats
http://mfioretti.com
Contact info: marco@digifreedom.net
Questions?
Thanks!

Beyond Free/Open Source Software

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