the.world.is.flat-第22部分

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Wikiquote；　a　book　of　quotations。　He　said　he　has　one　simple　goal：　to　give　〃every　single　


person　free　access　to　the　sum　of　all　human　knowledge。〃　
96　
Wales's　ethic　that　everyone　should　have　free　access　to　all　human　knowledge　is　
undoubtedly　heartfelt；　but　it　also　brings　usto　the　controversial　side　of　open…source：　
If　everyone　contributes　his　or　her　intellectual　capital　for　free；　where　will　the　
resources　for　new　innovation　come　from？　And　won't　we　end　up　in　endless　legal　wrangles　
over　which　part　of　any　innovation　was　made　by　the　community　for　free；　and　meant　to　
stay　that　way；　and　which　part　was　added　on　by　some　company　for　profit　and　has　to　be　
paid　for　so　that　the　company　can　make　money　to　drive　further　innovation？　These　
questions　are　all　triggered　by　the　other　increasingly　popular　form　of　self…organized　
collaboration…the　free　software　movement。　According　to　the　openknowledge。org　Web　
site；　〃The　free/open　source　software　movement　began　in　the　'hacker'　culture　of　U。S。　
computer　science　laboratories　（Stanford；　Berkeley；　Carnegie　Mellon；　and　MIT）　in　the　
1960's　and　1970's。　The　community　ofprogrammers　was　small；　and　close…knit。　Codepassed　
back　and　forth　between　the　members　of　the　community…if　you　made　an　improvement　you　
were　expected　to　submit　your　code　to　the　community　of　developers。　To　withhold　code　
was　considered　gauche…after　all；　you　benefited　from　the　work　of　your　friends；　you　
should　return　the　favor。〃　
The　free　software　movement；　however；　was　and　remains　inspired　by　the　ethical　ideal　
that　software　should　be　free　and　available　to　all；　and　it　relies　on　open…source　
collaboration　to　help　produce　the　best　software　possible　to　be　distributed　for　free。　
This　a　bit　different　from　the　approach　of　the　intellectual　commons　folks；　like　Apache。　
They　saw　open…sourcing　as　a　technically　superior　means　of　creating　software　and　other　
innovations；　and　while　Apache　was　made　available　to　all　for　free；　it　had　no　problem　
with　commercial　software　being　built　on　top　of　it。　The　Apache　group　allowed　anyone　
who　created　a　derivative　work　to　own　it　himself；　provided　he　acknowledge　the　Apache　
contribution。　
The　primary　goal　of　the　free　software　movement；　however；　is　to　get　as　many　people　
as　possible　writing；　improving；　and　distributing　software　for　free；　out　of　a　
conviction　that　this　will　empower　everyone　and　free　individuals　from　the　grip　of　
global　corporations。　Generally　speaking；　the　free　
97　
software　movement　structures　its　licenses　so　that　if　your　commercial　software　draws　
directly　from　their　free　software　copyright；　they　want　your　software　to　be　free　too。　
In　1984；　according　to　Wikipedia；　an　MIT　researcher　and　one　of　these　ex…hackers；　
Richard　Stallman；　launched　the　〃free　software　movement〃　along　with　an　effort　to　build　
a　free　operating　system　called　GNU。　To　promote　free　software；　and　to　ensure　that　its　
code　would　always　be　freely　modifiable　and　available　to　all；　Stallman　founded　the　
Free　Software　Foundation　and　something　called　the　GNU　General　Public　License　（GPL）。　
The　GPL　specified　that　users　of　the　source　code　could　copy；　change；　or　upgrade　the　
code；　provided　that　they　made　their　changes　available　under　the　same　license　as　the　
original　code。　In　1991；　a　student　at　the　University　of　Helsinki　named　Linus　Torvalds；　
building　off　of　Stallman's　initiative；　posted　his　Linux　operating　system　to　compete　
with　the　Microsoft　Windows　operating　system　and　invited　other　engineers　and　geeks　


online　to　try　to　improve　it…for　free。　Since　Torvalds's　initial　post；　programmers　all　
over　the　world　have　manipulated；　added　to；　expanded；　patched；　and　improved　the　
GNU/Linux　operating　system；　whose　license　says　anyone　can　download　the　source　code　
and　improve　upon　it　but　then　must　make　the　upgraded　version　freely　available　to　
everybody　else。　Torvalds　insists　that　Linux　must　always　be　free。　Companies　that　sell　
software　improvements　that　enhance　Linux　or　adapt　it　to　certain　functions　have　to　
be　very　careful　not　to　touch　its　copyright　in　their　commercial　products。　
Much　like　Microsoft　Windows；　Linux　offers　a　family　of　operating　systems　that　can　be　
adapted　to　run　on　the　smallest　desktop　computers；　laptops；　PalmPilots；　and　even　
wristwatches；　all　the　way　up　to　the　largest　supercomputers　and　mainframes。　So　a　kid　
in　India　with　a　cheap　PC　can　learn　the　inner　workings　of　the　same　operating　system　
that　is　running　in　some　of　the　largest　data　centers　of　corporate　America。　Linux　has　
an　army　of　developers　across　the　globe　working　to　make　it　better。　As　I　was　working　
on　this　segment　of　the　book；　I　went　to　a　picnic　one　afternoon　at　the　Virginia　country　
home　of　Pamela　and　Malcolm　Baldwin；　whom　my　wife　came　to　know　through　her　membership　
on　the　board　of　World　Learning；　an　educational　NGO。　I　mentioned　in　the　course　of　lunch　
that　I　was　

thinking　of　going　to　Mali　to　see　just　how　flat　the　world　looked　from　its　outermost　
edge…the　town　of　Timbuktu。　The　Baldwins'　son　Peter　happened　to　be　working　in　Mali　
as　part　of　something　called　the　GeekCorps；　which　helps　to　bring　technology　to　
developing　countries。　A　few　days　after　the　lunch；　I　received　an　e…mail　from　Pamela　
telling　me　that　she　had　consulted　with　Peter　about　accompanying　me　to　Timbuktu；　and　
then　she　added　the　following；　which　told　me　everything　I　needed　to　know　and　saved　
me　the　whole　trip：　〃Peter　says　that　his　project　is　creating　wireless　networks　via　
satellite；　making　antennas　out　of　plastic　soda　bottles　and　mesh　from　window　screens！　
Apparently　everyone　in　Mali　uses　Linux。　。　。〃　
〃Everyone　in　Mali　uses　Linux。〃　That　is　no　doubt　a　bit　of　an　exaggeration；　but　it's　
a　phrase　that　you'd　hear　only　in　a　flat　world。　
The　free　software　movement　has　become　a　serious　challenge　to　Microsoft　and　some　other　
big　global　software　players。　As　Fortune　magazine　reported　on　February　23；　2004；　〃The　
availability　of　this　basic；　powerful　software；　which　works　on　Intel's　ubiquitous　
microprocessors；　coincided　with　the　explosive　growth　of　the　Internet。　Linux　soon　
began　to　gain　a　global　following　among　programmers　and　business　users　。　。　。　The　
revolution　goes　far　beyond　little　Linux　。　。　。　Just　about　any　kind　of　software　＇now＇　
can　be　found　in　open…source　form。　The　SourceForge　website；　a　meeting　place　for　
programmers；　lists　an　astounding　86；000　programs　in　progress。　Most　are　minor　projects　
by　and　for　geeks；　but　hundreds　pack　real　value　。　。　。　If　you　hate　shelling　out　350　
for　Microsoft　Office　or　600　for　Adobe　Photoshop；　OpenOffice。org　and　the　Gimp　are　
surprisingly　high…quality　free　alternatives。〃　Big　companies　like　Google；　E*Trade；　
and　Amazon；　by　combining　Intel…based　commodity　server　components　and　the　Linux　
operating　system；　have　been　able　dramatically　to　cut　their　technology　spending…and　
get　more　control　over　their　software。　
Why　would　so　many　people　be　ready　to　write　software　that　would　be　given　away　for　free？　


Partly　it　is　out　of　the　pure　scientific　challenge；　which　should　never　be　
underestimated。　Partly　it　is　because　they　all　hate　Micro…

soft　for　the　way　it　has　so　dominated　the　market　and；　in　the　view　of　many　techies；　
bullied　everyone　else。　Partly　it　is　because　they　believe　that　open…source　software　
can　be　kept　more　fresh　and　bugfree　than　any　commercial　software；　because　of　the　way　
it　is　constantly　updated　by　an　army　of　unpaid　programmers。　And　partly　it　is　because　
some　big　tech　companies　are　paying　engineers　to　work　on　Linux　and　other　software；　
hoping　it　will　cut　into　Microsoft's　market　share　and　make　it　a　weaker　competitor　all　
around。　There　are　a　lot　of　motives　at　work　here；　and　not　all　of　them　altruistic。　When　
you　put　them　all　together；　though；　they　make　for　a　very　powerful　movement　that　will　
continue　to　present　a　major　challenge　to　the　whole　commercial　software　model　of　buying　
a　program　and　then　downloading　its　fixes　and　buying　its　updates。　
Until　now；　the　Linux　operating　system　was　the　best…known　success　among　open…source　
free　software　projects　challenging　Microsoft。　But　Linux　is　largely　used　by　big　
corporate　data　centers；　not　individuals。　However；　in　November　2004；　the　Mozilla　
Foundation；　a　nonprofit　group　supporting　open…source　software；　released　Firefox；　a　
free　Web　browser　that　New　York　Times　technology　writer　Randall　Stross　（December　19；　
2004）　described　as　very　fast　and　filled　with　features　that　Microsoft's　Internet　
Explorer　lacks。　Firefox　1。0；　which　is　easily　installed；　was　released　on　November　9。　
〃Just　over　a　month　later；〃　Stross　reported；　〃the　foundation　celebrated　a　remarkable　
milestone：　10　million　downloads。〃　Donations　from　Firefox's　appreciative　fans　paid　
for　a　two…page　advertisement　in　The　New　York　Times。　〃With　Firefox；〃　Stross　added；　
〃open…source　software　moves　from　back…office　obscurity　to　your　home；　and　to　your　
parents'；　too。　（Your　children　in　college　are　already　using　it。）　It　is　polished；　as　
easy　to　use　as　Internet　Explorer　and；　most　compelling；　much　better　defended　against　
viruses；　worms　and　snoops。　Microsoft　has　always　viewed　Internet　Explorer's　tight　
integration　with　Windows　to　be　an　attractive　feature。　That；　however；　was　before　
security　became　the　unmet　need　of　the　day。　Firefox　sits　lightly　on　top　of　Windows；　
in　a　separation　from　the　underlying　operating　system　that　the　Mozilla　Foundation's　
president；　Mitchell　Baker；　calls　a　'natural　defense。'　For　the　first　time；　Internet　
Explorer　has　been　losing　market　share。　According　to　a　worldwide　survey　conducted　in　
late　November　by　OneStat。com；　a　company　in　Amsterdam　that　analyzes　the　Web；　Internet　
Explorer's　share　dropped　to　less　than　89　percent；　5　percentage　points　less　than　in　
May。　Firefox　now　has　almost　5　percent　of　the　market；　and　it　is　growing。〃　
It　will　come　as　nosurprise　that　Microsoft　officials　are　not　believers　inthe　viability　
or　virtues　of　the　free　software　form　of　open…source。　Of　all　the　issues　I　dealt　with　
in　this　book；　none　evoked　more　passion　from　proponents　and　opponents　than　open…source。　
After　spending　time　with　the　open…source　community；　I　wanted　to　hear　what　Microsoft　
had　to　say；　since　this　is　going　to　be　an　important　debate　that　will　determine　just　
how　much　of　a　flattener　open…source　becomes。　
Microsoft's　first　point　is；　How　do　you　push　innovation　forward　if　everyone　is