 |
 |
 |
Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually sold within 24
hours of being harvested. Produce picked and eaten at the height of ripeness
has exceptional flavor and, when handled properly, is packed with nutrients.
|
 |
|
|
| |
Software, like knowledge, has the marvelous quality of not losing
its value by the act of sharing. Sharing an idea does not weaken it,
but strengthens it. Sharing software code does not "wear it out",
but makes it stronger by making it better known, better tested, and
contributed to by more people.
Commercial software is a relative newcomer to the software
ecosystem. Until the late 70's, most software was free, its
source code was open, and the main drivers in the software industry
were collaboration and sharing, rather than greed. This changed
during the eighties, but Open Source never went away, and now,
thanks to the Internet's strength as a tool for sharing, is
making a very strong comeback.
Source Code is to software like DNA is to life. Open Source,
or Free Software, is code that has no artificial limitations
imposed on it. Just like biotech firms seek to patent seeds,
creating sources of revenue from what is naturally free: Nature's
"code sharing", in the form the the natural reproduction of life,
commercial software companies build fortunes by preventing the
sharing of software, and treating sofware, an inherently shareable
item, like a "physical object" that wears down and breaks with
use. Open Source Welcomes this sharing, and in facts, derives
it's strength from it.
By using, improving, and contributing back to the community a
wide range of Free Software tools in all of our projects,
Ocean Group, the software
engineering company behind the development of the FoodRoutes Web site, is an
active participant in this alternative and fast growing software
economy. An economy based in natural abundance and not on
artificial scarcities.
Developing a Web site like foodroutes.org over commercial software
components would be prohibitively expensive. FoodRoutes would
need to pay a fortune in licensing fees to companies that sell
Operating Systems, Web Servers, GIS engines, Relational Databases,
Application servers, Directory Servers, and other application
components. Fortunately, there are very high quality Open Source
components available for all of these pieces.
To find out more about Open Source, visit the Web sites of the
Free Software Foundation and the
Open Source Initiative.
|
