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2016 Year in Preview: The Future of Open Source

spannerspencer

Open Sourceimage

Of all our recent discussions about future tech predictions and how electronics platforms might evolve over the next 12 months., this is perhaps the most semantic.


After all, a platform, board or piece of software is either open source, or it isn't. There's not much in the way of middle ground, so the discussion almost seems void.


However, it's becoming increasingly common to find products and platforms that are mostly open source, but not entirely. Is this the way open source will go? Just keeping enough back for a company to control its own devices, and make it easier to survive the fluctuating markets? Or is that the path to the dark side?


Will Open Source Become More Open, or More Closed?


On a slightly lighter note, perhaps you'll agree with my feelings on open source, that as much as being a description of a platform's accessibility, it's also a social movement.


Some of us have a particular passion for the open source scene, and actively seek out new software and hardware not because it provides a specific function that a project needs, but because it's open source. Is that such a bad thing?


And let's say I want to join the open source scene, what's my next move? How can the scene grow and evolve and continue to encourage developers and creators to join its ranks when launching new software and hardware? What's next for open source?


Tell us all about the future of Open Source below (and what you'd like to see, as much as what we will see), and we'll reconvene this time next year to see how close we got to the mark.

  • in reply to jack.chaney56

    I think it comes down to cynicism.

     

    The idea that anyone would do quality work for no payment immediately makes people suspicious.

     

    While it is possible for people to do good deeds without rewards, few people ever experience one, hence the distrust.

     

    DAB

  • This is a minefield of conspiracy theory and conjecture. The open source community has always been under attack by the mainstream. The age old question, "why do you put forth such a great effort if you never intend to get paid for it?" is the drone since the early days of GNU and the spawn of Linux. Major businesses are always talking down open source with the comment "if it breaks, who is going to support it?"  So what happens then?  When the initial developers get tired of the fight, or decide they have a need for a chunk of money, they relinquish their creation to another, who does not always have the same altruistic ideals.

     

    The history of MySQL is the classic for this. What was once free and run under the GNU licensing, is now available for a minimal support fee. Xenix tried to sue Linux for encroachment until they discovered the Linux community had extracted the component, repaired it, and replaced it in their archive, under license. Microsoft has finally backed off much of their "crush, kill, destroy" tactics, and decided to open the source for a significant portion of Windows OS. Maybe because they lost their Monopoly case and ran out of appeals.

     

    I have said before, innovation does not come from mainstream.  Technical leaps come from the hobby community, always! The reason is you can't have any major progress without incurring risk, and major industry does everything it can to reduce risk, so it becomes self defeating. With little exception.

  • in reply to johnbeetem

    Key phase in your reply was that they don't advertise they are open source.

    It would be interesting to see how many customers would reconsider an android device if it was clearly highlighted that it is open source.

     

    Remember, perception trumps reality in these kinds of issues.

     

    DAB

  • It's been fun seeing this Year in Preview 2016 series !

    Lots of interesting topics. It gets people out of the comfortable zone to make predictions, and also during New Years hols it has provided a lot of interesting material to read as a result!

    p.s. also the creation of the banner by reusing the Year in Review 2015 one is very efficient! image

  • in reply to DAB

    DAB wrote:

     

    However, when you are dealing with the average consumer, they have little or no technical background and anything called Open source will scare them out of buying.

    Most open-source products don't advertise that they're open source.  Android phones and tablets don't advertise the fact that Android is open source as is the Linux kernel that Android runs on top of.  Routers that run open-source software don't advertise it either.  Neither do television sets.

     

    There are loads of products based on open-source software plus proprietary extensions.  But you have to look at the fine print to find where you can download the source code, and often manufacturers don't even bother to do that.  Open source is a huge success in spite of being mostly invisible.