We're committed to open source software! OSS probably isn't the first thing
that you think of when you think of a bar, but perhaps it should be somewhere
on the list. Here's a brief introduction to the field, what we do with it,
and where you can go to find out more.
- Our gift to the OSS Community - OSS VIPs
- OSS - What is it and why?
- What projects we use at Fresco
- Where do I find out more?
- Reflections on "Open Source Bar"
You work hard, you sweat code, and you match parentheses in your sleep.
It sounds like you need a beer.
We're still drafting up the final wording for our give-back to the open source
community, but here's the excerpt from our newsletter:
* Open Source Discount Membership rules: TBD.
At the moment we're only collecting information from potential applicants
that think they'll be up to the (unannounced) standards based on the above.
Suffice it to say, it'll be something like "verifiable nontrivial commits
to projects with any of the following licenses: GPLv1, GPLv2, LGPL, *BSD, ..."
with the rules subject to change as we work out what seems within the
right spirit.
Go ahead and send an email to info *AT* peelfresco *DOT* com with something
fitting in with the above. Assuming I can follow what you did and it's
consistent with my idea of the spirit from the excerpt written above, you
will receive a free membership to Fresco's Open Source Discount Members. Drop
by the bar as mentioned in the email you receive, and we'll knock some bucks off
your tab. Specifics will be released after we finish working them out, but
it'll probably be in line with our JINHBAC members discount.
back to top
Open Source Software.. It's not your common shrinkwrapped bits.
The programs that you run on your computer (or whomever's you happen to be
using) are a stream of 1's and 0's telling the machine what to do in an
endless set of simple instructions. But programmers don't usually write
in 1's and 0's - even simple calculations would take a while to type in and
check (just ask anyone who ever sat there punching out cards and feeding them
into one of the old minicomputers of a bygone era). Programmers tend to
write in a variety of languages that help them get things done a bit quicker,
a bit more error free (hopefully), and with a greater library of tools to
help them do whatever it is they're trying to get done.
That's called "code", usually short for "source code".
A full definition of all this (including open source) is way beyond this
simple web page (see the supporting documents for more complete / accurate
definitions). This page is more for a first glance for the uninitiated (the rest
of you probably already have your own idea of what open source is, and I'll
bet you a beer they're not all compatible with each other ;) ).
Programmers generally just give away the 1's and 0's version of their programs
(also called the "executable" or "binary"). But sometimes, they're after
community, or just want to share a little more that just the executable;
then they might give away the
source instead. Other programmers (generally at their own will but I can't
speak for everyone) sometimes send back little changes or add-ons (patches/diffs). Or
occasionally they make their own copy and add the original author to the footnotes of
the project and set off in a new direction (forking).
Some of these projects have gotten quite large (millions of lines of code).
Some of them have gotten quite popular (find someone these days who's never
heard of Firefox). And a few of them just wandered off to go to the great
bitstream in the sky (figuratively and literally - Gentoo
looks like it's going to go into space, at least according to
this news announcement, for example).
Whatever it is that this software has done to the world (and around it),
there certainly is a whole lot of it. And it's changed a whole lot of
things. Just drop the words "Linux" or "fftw" into Google and see what I mean...
(Ironic Aside: the servers answering for this web page you are currently viewing
are DEFINITELY using it themselves (yeah yeah, I'm ignoring potential closed source caching..))
back to top
Several, but here's some that get fairly regular use:
- Gentoo Linux. Our highly optimized bar server and hosting solution
are both emerged off the gentoo stack
- Firefox. For our browsing needs.
- GIMP. Graphics postproduction prep for the newsletter
/ website / ads.
- VLC. For the open mic live video streaming and reflecting
- PERL. The glue for everything
- Open Office. Someone has to talk excel these days..
- Apache. For our web serving needs
- PHP. When static HTML just isn't enough
- MySQL. 'Cuz everyone needs a serious relational database.
- vim. When notepad just doesn't cut it
- nano. When I'm too hung over to remember my vim escape sequences.
- Dada Mail. For our mailing list.
- Ubuntu. Because I don't want Microsoft thinking for me on my laptop
and constantly coming up with what I don't want to do
back to top
Pretty much everywhere, or drop by the bar and mention copyleft or order
a BSOD (after we get the mix right). In the meantime, this ought to get
you started:
back to top
Ok, I did a little thinking, and I have a sneaking suspicion that being
"fully open source" for a company itself (not just its products) probably
means being a public company. Fresco isn't public, as you probably can
guess, and we'd have to sell just a few more beers (calculator here someday)
to get there. So for now, we're really just "powered by Open Source", and
like to support the community for their efforts.
Of course, as Bruce Perens pointed out,
the text of Open Source Licenses themselves
aren't generally open source, or anyone could just drop whatever terms they
like to
have whatever agreement they want. I have a suspicion that a similar logic
dilemma is at work here (thoughts? use the info *AT* peelfresco *DOT* com
address for now until a message board gets sorted out).
Needless to say, it might take some further thinking to fully understand
what "an open source bar" means.
back to top
