Open Source Means An Open Mind

Here is a paper I wrote about my intro to Open Source. It is being posted partially as a response to Steve Ballmer's statement condemning it - AFTER his company (Microsoft) got its hands slapped by GNU and the GPL:

I have been into computers for almost 30 years. During this time my interest in computers have changed. In the beginning I was exclusively into computer games. Later on, I expanded into not only other utility software, but also into hardware and software customization. I can understand my evolution into being more serious about computers (including attempting an Associates Degree in IT-CNS) is because of the Linux/Open Source Movement.

During the ‘80’s, computer operating systems were closed and proprietary. IBM did open their hardware specifications for other companies to copy, but other companies were not so generous. I was a teen-ager during this time. Even so, I merely looked at computers as simple game machines, nothing more.

In 1987, I joined the U.S. Army. At that time, I was one of the few soldiers who have actually SEEN a computer, let alone owned one. As my Army career progressed, I ended up instructing other soldiers on how to use them. All I did, however, was show them how to use the piece of software they needed and nothing else. I was never motivated to do anything other than minimal training and playing games.

The Linux kernel came out in 1991; the first operating systems to use the Linux kernel were ready by 1993. As for me, however, I didn’t get involved with it until 2002. A friend introduced me to this new way at looking at a computer: using an OS (operating System) that, if I was good enough, I could REWRITE it to suit my needs.

Linux is Open Source. This means that the Source Code – the series of instructions that someone writes to create a program – is available to everyone. This means that you can take the code, edit it, rewrite it, and compile it to make it your own. It was developed my a man by the name of Linus Torvalds – a Finnish student at the time he designed his kernel, which was inspired by the UNIX kernels.

You do not violate any copyright laws when doing this to any OS or software package that has been declared Open Source. You may do whatever you wish with an Open Source software package. Companies have tried to stop this, by to no avail; Open Source is here to stay.

Once I got introduced to it, there was no turning back. I learned some programming languages, how to do major configurations to systems, even how to redesign the OS. Linux got me interested in the computer itself – not just what games it could play. I got interested enough to attempt to make a career out of it.

Here I am, at ITT Tech, attempting an IT-CNS degree. If all the things that brought me to this path, the main culprits were Linus Torvalds and his kernel.