On The Margins

Sunday September 19, 2004

[ Society ] Open Source Society

We (and this does not include just the U.S.) are already an open-source society to a very large extent. Information is widely available for those who care to find out and some have proven it possible to do so by their own example.

However, open dialogue matters well above and beyond open source.

Mixing, on the importance of which to innovation Lawerence Lessig has built a whole case, is simply an instance of open dialogue.

Open-source (widely available) information might be a pre-requisite for substantive dialogue but it neither replaces or guarantees it nor leads to it.

Finally, there're those who believe that what matters most is not cyber-dialogue but committed, emboddied dialogue and responsible action, as Hubert Dreyfus has noted in his analysis of the Internet.

2004-09-19 23:28:17.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.

[ Code ] Open Dialogue Code

It's funny how certain corporate strategists pay more detailed attention to the press than to their own corporate purpose. (Some may even believe that all their problems stem from bad press.)

So, now we read in the reports (Reuters and the WSJ) that Microsoft has decided to open source its Office software to certain governments and under certain conditions. The same reports say that Microsoft has apparently done this to combat the advances of Linux, its "open-source" desk-top OS rival.

Under the program, Microsoft doesn't completely lift the veil. Governments are able to see 90% of the source code. The bulk of the rest is code where a third party owns the copyright, according to Microsoft. The company also holds back from exposing code that relates to antipiracy technology. (The WSJ, Sept. 20, 2004)

Even if source code is to be shared with more governments and under much less strict conditions, the strategic threat that Microsoft faces will persist. The problem is not an inability to see the code but an inability to participate in the dialog that ends up in it.

As I've said earlier, what matters is not openness of the source (whatever that means) but the openness of the dialogue about the source code, its use and evolution.

And here is another question worth thinking about. Would government regulations around the world ask for "open-source" code or "open-dialog" code? Most probably, it would be the former because "open-source" is a property more measurable.

2004-09-19 22:43:10.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.

[ Personal ] My Favorite TV Programming

My favorite English-language TV programming comes to me via Reuters.com.

It brings me large quantities of "raw" video clips, which often include the original language.

The "raw" video clips give a much better sense of the context of the news.

The Reuters TV channels can be followed through their RSS feed.

2004-09-19 00:59:31.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.