beyond free/open source software

Marco Fioretti ([email protected]) September 2010, University of Vlora, Albaniahttp://mfioretti.com Free Software in Balkans Conferencehttp:/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 Fiorettihttp://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 moneyStimulate 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

http://commons.globalintegrity.org/2010/05/openness-is-not-enough-evidence-of.html


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: [email protected]

Questions?

Thanks!

http://stop.zona-m.net/

http://mfioretti.com/

mailto:[email protected]

beyond free/open source software

Government & Nonprofit