EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; Open Source; and Licensing

HOWTO: Open Source Software Licensing for University-based Research Projects

drupal — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 10:57:19 -0600

This publication is oriented towards release of open source by universities. This shows the results of case studies of three University of Toronto open source software projects including the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre's Decision Support Tool (DST) and Web-4-All; as well as KMDI's ePresence Media and ePresence Live.

IBM Opens Research to Academia

drupal — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 11:01:28 -0500

IBM is extending an academic outreach program to give universities access to some of its cutting-edge research free of charge.

Free Software and Open Source: The Freedom Debate and its Consequences

drupal — Wed, 18 May 2005 15:26:49 -0500

Recently the University of Göteborg held an online course in the theory and philosophy of free software and open source. During this course a lively discussion on terminology took place, in particular the concept of freedom was discussed. Without arriving at particular conclusions the posts included views in part on the lack of user awareness on what was property within the computer, on the difference between free, gratis, and libre in different languages and cultures and the need for both a common terminology and infrastructure. This paper is not an attempt to resolve these issues but to bring these questions to the attention of a wider audience in the hope that the discussion will continue.

To most outsiders the ethics of software is not something usually considered. To most proficient computer users with a passing interest in this question the ethics of software is recognised as one of the fundamental questions in the digital rights area. To most of the latter, terms such as free software, open source, and their derivatives (FLOSS, FOSS, Software Freedom) are interchangeable. Choosing one over the other is a matter of taste rather than politics. However, to most insiders the question is not one of taste. There is a fundamental difference between the two areas even if they share a similar root. Free software is not the same as open source. The two groups differ in their fundamental philosophical approach to software and its importance to society as a whole. This paper examines the two groups' differing philosophies and explores how their actions have affected software development, access to fundamental software infrastructure, and the development of the concept of freedom.

Free And Open Source Software Licensing Primer

drupal — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 10:37:03 -0500

This primer is an introductory summary of licensing issues involved with using the different FOSS licenses, primarily the GNU GPL license. It offers several scenarios, and proposes a framework for licensing of government sponsored software. The primer also addresses common questions and misconceptions regarding copyright and licensing issues.

Sharing the Code: More Colleges and Universities See Open-source Software as an Alternative to Commercial Products

drupal — Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:13:20 -0500

Colleges and universities are now beginning to consider collaboration on open source software as a relatively cheap, effective way to meet their specialized software and computing needs.