Do you know that open source software has an impact on the way you live your life? Open source applications are available to anyone who wants to modify them and, of course, can edit them.
Do you know how the term “open source” started?
The phrase comes from a movement in the late 1990s to renew free software in a more ethically neutral way. Two of those involved in this movement, Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens, founded the Open Source Initiative in 1998. The organization provided the first official definition of Open Source software and has been working to expand the concept's adoption ever since.
February 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the OSI, and the effort to spread Open Source now seems to be living up to the vision of Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens.
Below, we'll see how open source software has managed to change the world.
Desktop computers with open source software and operating system are everywhere
When the Open Source Initiative was launched, Linux had been around for about half a decade. The K Desktop environment (as it was then known) was only a year old, and GNOME didn’t exist yet. Linux wasn’t exactly easy to use for someone trying to replace Windows or Mac OS.
That’s changed.
Linux is now easy to install and easy to use. There are many desktop environments to choose from. There are many “mature” open source programs available for all kinds of functions.
The Top 500 Supercomputers run on Linux
Supercomputers perform mathematical operations (and not only) that would require tens of thousands of mathematicians and unlimited time. They are the machines that meteorologists use, for example, to be able to compare a flood of changing variables (temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, humidity, etc.), to create accurate weather patterns and of course forecasting.
TOP500 Supercomputer: Linux in the 500 of 500 computers
Supercomputers allow scientists to create simulations instead of destroying the environment and blowing things up.
Supercomputers are very specialized machines, and open source has helped with this. Programmers can use only the functions they need, change modules, and make the necessary additions without having to pay or account to anyone.
This is one of the reasons why all 500 of the world's top supercomputers run on Linux.
Transport systems with Linux
Many major infrastructure projects, such as U.S. air traffic control, rely on Linux to track planes in the sky. Train companies use Linux to monitor trains. Linux runs on the pumps you see at gas stations, and some airplanes use Linux to power their infotainment systems.
Google uses Linux for its self-driving cars, and traditional car manufacturers like General Motors and Volkswagen have begun developing their own Linux for the same purpose.
The International Space Station? It runs Linux.
Open Source is behind most smartphones
Android is currently the most popular mobile operating system in the world, and it is based on Linux. When a new company wants to enter the market, they don't think about developing a new system from scratch, but take Android or some other version of Linux (such as Tizen) as a basis.
But although most smartphones use open source operating systems, the code is closed by the time it reaches the consumer's hands... The Android device you buy from a store is essentially a closed source product.
The Cloud “stands” on Open Source
More and more people are leaving local applications on their desktop computers for the same services that run through a browser. Yes, we are talking about the Cloud. Applications and services that run through someone else's computers. Most Cloud computers today run on open source software.
Linux and other open source operating systems, such as FreeBSD, are popular choices for servers, that is, computers that are mainly intended for remote access.
Big data platforms such as Kubernetes and MondoDB software work on the backend. But the competition is great and it doesn't stop there: there are very big names like CloudStack, OpenShift and OpenStack.
Developers, for the most part, prefer open source tools.
Accessible Web for everyone
Open Source software has made it easier for anyone to create their own website. Yes, you have to pay someone to host your website and for a domain name, but creating the page won’t cost you anything.
WordPress, for example, is an open-source backend that is used by many of the pages you visit on the internet. You can pay for themes or some plugins, but the free nature and adaptability of the application has made it one of the most popular on the web.
The truth is that everyone has been able to create their own website for free since the beginning of the World Wide Web, but they had to know a programming language like HTML.
Today you can do it with a few clicks, and with millions of instructions available online.
The “Open” has gone beyond the code
The free distribution of code for those interested to read, edit, modify, and incorporate it wherever they need it started as an idea that seems to have found a lot of supporters.
Today, the idea has spread to other areas, and so you can find innovations in open source governance, open education, open business, open agriculture, and the list goes on.
Besides, it sounds much safer to see, access, and participate in the systems that affect us.
