What I find intriguing and potentially exciting about the simulation
notion that is being discussed is if it were to be set up in a way
parallel to the manner in which the on-going development of Linux/open
systems is proceeding.
Linus Thorvalds, a Finnish graduate student adapted the AT&T operating
system (OS) UNIX to become an operating system for PC's.
He made that OS available to anyone in the world who was interested in
working on it, for free via the Internet. Thousands of independent
computer folks (hackers?) took up the challenge and working via the net
with no central authority have developed Linus' OS into LINUX which is
now seen as the only real threat to the global hegemony of Microsoft.
I would refer you to what has become known as the "Halloween Document" for
a very interesting and enlightening discussion of this.
What the simulation discussion triggered for me, was an image of a similar
initiative to develop a map of the global economy with multiple
independent information sources each of which was feeding into the
development of a common and commonly useful end product.
I would suggest that those who have an active interest in this simulation
take a close look at the LINUX phenomena (the work of Eric Raymond is a
very good starting point) and proceed from there...
Below is something that I sent to another couple of lists last month that
will give anyone interested a useful starting point in this direction.
regs
Mike Gurstein
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 09:31:47 -0400 (AST)
From: Michael Gurstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: UN Reform <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
ict-4-led <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: The Halloween Document
This just released (and acknowledged) Microsoft document is to software
what MAI/MAInot is to international trade and depending on which you
consider to be more important...international trade or the future of
software (or the lil blu dress)...this may be the most important "story"
of 1998.
Well worth the slog and hop the links to Eric Raymond's "The Cathedral and
the Bazaar" while you are at it...
[To which Russell McOrmond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> replied:
When you consider convergence (Television, Telephone, Computer
communication, etc all merging), and the fact we are moving into
(IMO already in) an information economy, it is impossible to differentiate
monopolistic control over information technology (de-commoditize protocols
& applications) and monopolistic control over economies (MAI). McOrmond's
comments to this paper are at:
http://news.flora.org/flora.comnet-www/1341]
M
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 18:43:06 -0500 (EST)
From: James Love <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Multiple recipients of list INFO-POLICY-NOTES
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: the Halloween Document
------------------------------------------------------------
Info-Policy-Notes | News from Consumer Project on Technology
------------------------------------------------------------
November 2, 1998
The Halloween Document
Microsoft has confirmed that this internal document, which was leaked
to Eric Raymond, is authentic. It is the Microsoft strategy to deal with
Linux and other free software platforms, referred to as "Open Source
Software" or OSS by the MS author. Eric Raymond has placed an annotated
version of the document on the web at:
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/halloween.html
The memorandum offers important insight into Microsoft's understanding
of the free/open source software movement. It indicates, for example,
that Microsoft needs to attack the process and the culture of the free
software movement, more than any particular company. Eric Raymond sees
awareness by Microsoft that the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
and its support of open software is a threat to Microsoft's goal of
dominating server markets. These are the excerpts from the document
that Eric placed in his introduction.
Jamie Love <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 202.387.8030
<------excerpts from the MS OSS Haloween document-------->
* OSS poses a direct, short-term revenue and platform threat to
Microsoft, particularly in server space. Additionally, the intrinsic
parallelism and free idea exchange in OSS has benefits that are not
replicable with our current licensing model and therefore present a long
term developer mindshare threat.
* Recent case studies (the Internet) provide very dramatic evidence
.. that commercial quality can be achieved / exceeded by OSS projects.
* ...to understand how to compete against OSS, we must target a
process rather than a company.
* OSS is long-term credible ... FUD tactics can not be used to
combat it.
* Linux and other OSS advocates are making a progressively more
credible argument that OSS software is at least as robust -- if not more
-- than commercial alternatives. The Internet provides an ideal,
high-visibility showcase for the OSS world.
* Linux has been deployed in mission critical, commercial
environments with an excellent pool of public testimonials. ... Linux
outperforms many other UNIXes ... Linux is on track to eventually own
the x86 UNIX market ...
* Linux can win as long as services / protocols are commodities.
* OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server
applications because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple
protocols. By extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we
can deny OSS projects entry into the market.
* The ability of the OSS process to collect and harness the
collective IQ of thousands of individuals across the Internet is simply
amazing. More importantly, OSS evangelization scales with the size of
the Internet much faster than our own evangelization efforts appear to
scale.
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