Thanks Ignacio for those edits and additions.
Anyone,
Any thoughts on a larger published work either in peer-reviewed or
web-published?
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ignacio Valdes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <openhealth-list@minoru-development.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 8:38 PM
Subject: Re: Urgent need for open source author/editor and references
The Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) approach to system development
has a rich history from the beginnings of the modern computer age. The
GNU/Linux operating system was developed by a group of people interested
in creating an operating system that retained important user and developer
rights, such as the right to modify the software. Like Freedom of Speech,
these rights are important to retain, but are not usually invoked by the
majority of users. No one person or entity owns the Linux/GNU operating
system. It is used by virtue of a GNU General Public License (GPL) which
stipulates that the source code (human readable) of the project must be
available at no additional cost to users. Most GPL'ed source code is
delivered along with object code (computer executable) for free or nominal
cost of the recordable media that contains it. The value of open source
initiatives comes from the dynamic interplay of users helping each other
solve unique and common problems with shared computer code writing duties.
All parties benefit from this collaborative approach which has more in
common with health research than proprietary software. Because the United
States must develop a solution that any health provider anywhere in the
country can exchange information with any other provider, the FOSS
approach can yield superior results by avoiding problems of trade secrets
in proprietary software and the weaknesses of using open-standards only.
