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Closed source a few things

Closed source a few things

Making the case for why (just) a few things should remain closed source

Ben Balter

May 19, 2015
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  1. ‣ How to convey material goods over large distances ‣

    How to disseminate text-based information to a large audience ‣ In computer science, just about everything up to the application layer Things people don’t worry about
  2. ! Unlike literature, through object code
 software allows us to

    obscure 
 from others what we’ve learned
  3. ! Neither of us are full-time locksmiths, and go about

    doing the thing we originally set out to do
  4. ! As people install my lock in different places they

    find and fix flaws. My lock gets better.
  5. ! A robber tries common ways 
 to break into

    both houses. 
 Whose stuff is more secure?
  6. ‣ Your custom software being hacked doesn’t make headlines 


    (or if it does, the vendor isn’t in the story) ‣ Vulnerabilities are discovered, discussed, and patched in the open, with the fix being seen as a feature, not a potential lawsuit ‣ More rapid release cycles means more patches You hear a lot about open source vulnerabilities
  7. ‣ The secret sauce — passwords, server configurations, launch codes,

    your competitive advantage, etc — where it can’t be abstracted out ‣ Anything so specific to your use case that others wouldn’t benefit ‣ Projects you don’t have the resources (or desire) to maintain — open source is free as in puppies, not free as in beer
  8. ‣ Consume open source — Stand up a Drupal site,

    Linux-based servers, rely on open source libraries ‣ Publish open source — Post a zip file to an FTP server 
 (or the modern equivalent) ‣ Participate in the open source community — engage developers, actively seek contributors, merge community contributions
  9. ! Open Source (software)
 software that can be freely used,

    modified, and shared (in both modified and unmodified form) by anyone
  10. ! Open Source
 a philosophy of collaboration in which working

    materials are made available online for anyone to fork, modify, discuss, and contribute to.
  11. ! Friction (n) The time it takes to go from

    
 “I want to contribute” to “I have contributed”