Free for All: How LINUX and the Free Software Movement Undercut the High-Tech Titans

Rating:
Summary: Poorly written introduction to story of Linux
Review: As someone who is very familiar with the free software movement, I may be unduly critical of this book. My major criticism of _Free For All_ is the organization and writing tone. For the newbie it is too folksy, using really stretched analogies and attempted witticisms to explain a phenomenon that is extremely interesting on its own terms. This is NY Times Magazine-style writing that has little faith in the readers' attention spans or intelligence. For the reader who knows a bit about free software, it simply does not add anything new. Some parts held m y interest, and I give Wayner credit for seeing the most significant aspects of Linux: the GPL, the "bazaar" style of programming, and intellectual property concerns. His conclusions, though, need much more work. Citing Gilder, for example, as a spokesman for some type of "wise capitalism" stuck in my craw--the best thing about free software is that it recognizes the innumerable debts programmers have to previous programmers and the many people globally who contribute to its development, so it is everyone's property and free information. The problem Wayner points to, in which programmers are making little money from their efforts, is not the fault of the GPL. It lies with some of the foundations of the current intellectual property system.

Rating:
Summary: Some good info
Review: As the subject header says, the topic is quite fascinating, but this book just didn't do it for me. It does not make for a compelling narrative, the way the author chose to structure the book. To technically oriented people it may read better, but not being one I couldn't possibly tell. For the non-technical person, it does not make a terribly interesting read. And there is no narrative to follow whatsoever and no linear story either.

Rating:
Summary: Dry, plain reading...could have been done much better
Review: I really looked forward to reading this book and learning about the free software movement. Unfortunately, it isn't that interesting to read, mostly because it tends to dwell on topics that should only have been mentioned briefly. Also, chapters tend to ramble on endlessly without coming to a point.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for both techies and suits
Review: I've been a professional programmer, software entrepreneur and user of free software for over 15 years. I highly recommend this book for several reasons. First, it is one of the best and most important business books I've yet read about the software industry. It presents an insightful and nuanced analysis of the economics of software creation in the Internet age and articulately explains the appeal and inevitable success of open source software. As such this is a MUST READ for anyone who manages or invests in software-based companies.

Furthermore it is a delightful read. Programmers will no doubt appreciate the inside references to things like the religious "wars" between vi and emacs. At the same time, Wayner has a gift for metaphor and human detail that bring both the concepts and the players to life, and in a way that is accessible and enjoyable for both technical and non-technical readers.

Rating:
Summary: Good historical look at Linux...
Review: Interesting history of the Linux operating system, its early days, its evolution, and how through sharing files and offering the system for free, Linux began to take away market share from more pricey alternatives. Included here too is the growth of the reseller and repackager market for Linux programs. Offers an interesting peak into the world of a band of programmers who may never see any cash from their pioneering efforts, but may take heart in knowing that their efforts produced a system on a shoestring that is preferred to more well-known, entrenched operating systems on the market.

Rating:
Summary: Tell It All
Review: Peter Wayner does an outstanding job of looking at the history of the free software movement in this thoughtful, thorough book. Unlike other books about technology that refer to freeware (free software) as an example, Wayner looks directly at the phenomenon to evaluate its significance, the potential for the future, and why it works. I was especially impressed by the way he combined perspectives: historical, competitive, psychological, user needs, financial, resource, and wealth. Each one tells you something you need to know about this important area.

At first, my reaction was that this book would be only of interest to those who do not know much about freeware. Having read the whole book and thought more about it, I think the lessons here are probably just as pertinent for those who are active in the freeware movement. For Wayner is really addressing the long-term viability of what is needed to succeed. Many challenges are still ahead. For example, he notes that "the daily struggle for some form of income is one of the greatest challenges in the free source world today." These are the Minutemen of the Knowledge Age, doing other work to keep a roof over their heads and fighting for better software in all of their free time.

I especially enjoyed the many profiles of people who are involved with freeware in humble, altruistic ways. In an age described by many as greedy and self-obsessed with momentary pleasures, many of these people are the sort of independent thinkers and doers who originally established the United States and made our modern lives of freedom possible. We should all salute them!

The basic argument is that openly-developed freeware is an effective model for accelerating the rate of technological and human development in using data processing and electronic communications. For example, over half the Web servers run on open source software because it works better. You can create a supercomputer for $3,000 using open source freeware. The freeware model works because users draw attention faster to glitches (and bugs), and talented, caring people who are interested in solutions are drawn to creating rapid fixes. There is fame, reputation, and notoriety available for doing this free software work -- as well as tangible benefits in getting one's own tasks done faster and better. It is basically an argument based on complexity science and chaos theory, but built on the actual experiences of the software built from the original UNIX base at Berkeley and the Linux operating system.

One of the intriguing contrasts that is drawn is between the Microsoft development and marketing approach and the one for freeware. This is also characterized as the suits against the nerds. Wayner also points out that many mixed models are also developing. Red Hat offers Linux for those who want some better documentation and some support for a price. Hardware makers are starting to support freeware development activities.

Wayner does a good job of overcoming labels that often seem to be misapplied. He explains that Linus Torvalds really focuses now on the kernel of Linux rather than all of its aspects, and the choices that Torvalds made which allowed Linux to become so powerful. He also shows the detailed views of important people in the development of freeware such as Richard Stallman (author of the GNU Manifesto). The history of disputes among those involved in freeware are fascinating, such as the way that the AT&T lawsuit against Berkeley slowed down the development of BSD (Berkeley Software Development) so that it lags behind Linux in numbers of people using its freeware.

From reading this book, I had the sense that something even more important is at stake here. I suspect that the freeware movement is actually creating a new and improved paradigm for acclerating human progress which can be applied in many other fields of knowledge. As Wayner points out, however, this is in some ways merely a reversion to the historical intellectual model of universities freely sharing knowledge for the benefit of all. That model has not usually been applied to creating commercial significant products and services directly. Perhaps the day has come for that to happen with the connectivity of the Internet to help us.

Overcome your disbelief stall that existing methods of innovation will always dominate!

Rating:
Summary: Potential for Virtuous Cycles of Prosperity through Freeware
Review: Peter Wayner does an outstanding job of looking at the history of the free software movement in this thoughtful, thorough book. Unlike other books about technology that refer to freeware (free software) as an example, Wayner looks directly at the phenomenon to evaluate its significance, the potential for the future, and why it works. I was especially impressed by the way he combined perspectives: historical, competitive, psychological, user needs, financial, resource, and wealth. Each one tells you something you need to know about this important area.

At first, my reaction was that this book would be only of interest to those who do not know much about freeware. Having read the whole book and thought more about it, I think the lessons here are probably just as pertinent for those who are active in the freeware movement. For Wayner is really addressing the long-term viability of what is needed to succeed. Many challenges are still ahead. For example, he notes that "the daily struggle for some form of income is one of the greatest challenges in the free source world today." These are the Minutemen of the Knowledge Age, doing other work to keep a roof over their heads and fighting for better software in all of their free time.

I especially enjoyed the many profiles of people who are involved with freeware in humble, altruistic ways. In an age described by many as greedy and self-obsessed with momentary pleasures, many of these people are the sort of independent thinkers and doers who originally established the United States and made our modern lives of freedom possible. We should all salute them!

The basic argument is that openly-developed freeware is an effective model for accelerating the rate of technological and human development in using data processing and electronic communications. For example, over half the Web servers run on open source software because it works better. You can create a supercomputer for $3,000 using open source freeware. The freeware model works because users draw attention faster to glitches (and bugs), and talented, caring people who are interested in solutions are drawn to creating rapid fixes. There is fame, reputation, and notoriety available for doing this free software work -- as well as tangible benefits in getting one's own tasks done faster and better. It is basically an argument based on complexity science and chaos theory, but built on the actual experiences of the software built from the original UNIX base at Berkeley and the Linux operating system.

One of the intriguing contrasts that is drawn is between the Microsoft development and marketing approach and the one for freeware. This is also characterized as the suits against the nerds. Wayner also points out that many mixed models are also developing. Red Hat offers Linux for those who want some better documentation and some support for a price. Hardware makers are starting to support freeware development activities.

Wayner does a good job of overcoming labels that often seem to be misapplied. He explains that Linus Torvalds really focuses now on the kernel of Linux rather than all of its aspects, and the choices that Torvalds made which allowed Linux to become so powerful. He also shows the detailed views of important people in the development of freeware such as Richard Stallman (author of the GNU Manifesto). The history of disputes among those involved in freeware are fascinating, such as the way that the AT&T lawsuit against Berkeley slowed down the development of BSD (Berkeley Software Development) so that it lags behind Linux in numbers of people using its freeware.

From reading this book, I had the sense that something even more important is at stake here. I suspect that the freeware movement is actually creating a new and improved paradigm for acclerating human progress which can be applied in many other fields of knowledge. As Wayner points out, however, this is in some ways merely a reversion to the historical intellectual model of universities freely sharing knowledge for the benefit of all. That model has not usually been applied to creating commercial significant products and services directly. Perhaps the day has come for that to happen with the connectivity of the Internet to help us.

Overcome your disbelief stall that existing methods of innovation will always dominate!

Rating:
Summary: Some good info
Review: Some brief history, albeit disorganized, accompanied by rambling editorials about free beer and communism.

Rating:
Summary: "Use the Source, Luke!"
Review: This famous line borrowed of course from "Star Wars" is part of the battle cry that most advocates of so-called "Open Source Software" like to use and this book further examines this phenemenon. Whether or not Microsoft regards Linux (the most famous example of open source software) as a legitimate threat is an opinion best left to anyone reading it. Free for All in the early chapters compares the "open source movement" to the "1960s era" when there were those who felt the world could be a better place just by sharing the wealth among everyone. Another intriguing comparison is how some compare "open source" to a form of "communism!"

Free For All describes some of the "history" of the Open Source movement, items like BSD (and its legal battle with AT&T), how Bill Joy came to invent the Vi text editor and how Richard Stallman invented the Emacs screen editor. But it also details of course how a Finnish programmer named Linus Torvalds came to invent Linux, which Mircosoft seems to regard as some kind of "threat" to Windows. While Microsoft's share of the PC market is overwhelming (aproximately 85%), there are those opting for the "penguin" on their PC. It also opines that the open source movement may now be at a crossroads, does it get too big and start charging for its software or does it remain "free?"

There's also a glossary of open source terms at the back of the book that explains to "non-techies" some of the "buzz words" of open source, something I found helpful in explaining the movement.

This book is a fascinating look at how the open source software movement has and may yet continue to change how software is marketed.

Rating:
Summary: "Use the Source, Luke!"
Review: This famous line borrowed of course from "Star Wars" is part of the battle cry that most advocates of so-called "Open Source Software" like to use and this book further examines this phenemenon. Whether or not Microsoft regards Linux (the most famous example of open source software) as a legitimate threat is an opinion best left to anyone reading it. Free for All in the early chapters compares the "open source movement" to the "1960s era" when there were those who felt the world could be a better place just by sharing the wealth among everyone. Another intriguing comparison is how some compare "open source" to a form of "communism!"

Free For All describes some of the "history" of the Open Source movement, items like BSD (and its legal battle with AT&T), how Bill Joy came to invent the Vi text editor and how Richard Stallman invented the Emacs screen editor. But it also details of course how a Finnish programmer named Linus Torvalds came to invent Linux, which Mircosoft seems to regard as some kind of "threat" to Windows. While Microsoft's share of the PC market is overwhelming (aproximately 85%), there are those opting for the "penguin" on their PC. It also opines that the open source movement may now be at a crossroads, does it get too big and start charging for its software or does it remain "free?"

There's also a glossary of open source terms at the back of the book that explains to "non-techies" some of the "buzz words" of open source, something I found helpful in explaining the movement.

This book is a fascinating look at how the open source software movement has and may yet continue to change how software is marketed.