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

A journalist who covers technology for The New York TImes takes a close-up look at the rise and popular acceptance of Linux and explains how free software is changing the nature of business and wealth.

Necessity remains the mother of invention-or so it seems judging by this intriguing history of the free software movement. A self-confessed nerd who covers technology for the New York Times, Wayner starts by describing how computer programmers who wanted to tinker with proprietary source code were frustrated by the "no trespass" signs posted on operating systems like UNIX, Apple, DOS and Windows. They ultimately formed a grassroots movement that retaliated by building independent systems. Once they achieved their goal, they were determined to keep the source code open to all, following the tradition of academic research labs. As soon as these hackers developed a simple operating system, a worldwide network of interested programmers contributed free time and ideas to make it run smoothly on all manner of machines. One of the major results of this experiment in intellectual freedom is Linux (named after its originator, Linus Torvalds), an operating system that many claim is more stable, more adaptable and more accessible (and infinitely less expensive) than the current commercial leaders. That may explain why it's used in more than 50% of the Web servers on the Internet. Wayner writes in hushed tones of the exclusive group (almost all men) who worked on Linux out of the simple desire to play in the guts of the machine. But if anybody thinks that these are a bunch of harmonious code-lovers, Wayner's tales of nasty flame wars between the founding fathers and of turf battles petty enough for Dynasty reveal that even nerds are not above a little mud wrestling. Illus. not seen by PW. Agents, Daniel Greenberg, James Levine Agency. Author tour; 15-city NPR radio tour. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This is one book about the Internet and software design that does not involve initial public stock offerings and overnight millionaires. Wayner was a technology writer for the New York Times and is the author of several computer programming books. He traces the history of the free software movement founded in 1984 by former MIT programmer Richard Stallman, who is seen as an evangelist who believes that software and its documentation should be able to be copied freely and redistributed. In 1991 Linus Torvalds, then a 21-year-old University of Helsinki student and disciple of Stallman, invented Linux, a computer operating system that never crashes, can be rewritten to accommodate various uses, and is available free. Wayner shows how Microsoft has responded to the free software movement and predicts that open source software will eventually beat out proprietary software. Wayner himself is an open source proponent, and at one point he waxes philosophical about wealth and freedom, capturing the essence of the free software movement. David Rouse
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In the 1980s, a handful of dedicated programmers began sharing the source code to software they developed. Over the years, this movement to share programming code led to the establishment of the "open source initiative," which assured that few restrictions were placed on the redistribution of source code used for developing free software. Wayner, a journalist for the New York Times and Salon magazine and author of Digital Cash: Commerce on the Net, traces the history of this free software movement from its early days to the present. He focuses on the incredible story of Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux operating system. Wayner acknowledges that the free software movement has many weaknesses yet to be overcome, but he believes that it will flourish. He predicts that the devotion of Torvalds and others like him to the free software movement will win out in the end over corporations like Microsoft, changing the way we use computers on the job and at home. Recommended for an informed audience.DJoe Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ Lib., Chicago
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.