Hackers in the Bazaar
Tue, Apr 02
Today's lecture starts the discussion of the burgeoning free and open source software movement in the 1990s and early 2000s. We'll look at the philosophies on software development and commerce that were developed in parallel with the more permissive licenses that were attached to open source software. We'll also look the different open source operating system projects that hackers were fixated on contributing to in the 1990s. We have two learning goals for today. By the end of our lecture class, you will:
- Gain an understanding of how a hacker-centered movement that was initially radically anti-establishment gradually transformed the practice of creating commercial software.
- Appreciate the different historical progressions of open source operating systems, with some moving back to the realm of commercial software, and others retaining their radical characteristics.
The digital artifact for today is the Linux Operating System.
The slides for today's lecture are available here.
Read This:
Today's reading is Chapter Two of Gabriella Coleman's Book Coding Freedom titled A Tale of Two Legal Regimes.
Do This:
Final Project Deliverable
Here are the instructions for the final group project deliverable.
This group assignment is due on 5/6 at 5pm.
Movie Viewing
Watch the 2014 documentary The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz. You can access the film through the Internet Archive. This week's writing reflection will prompt you to think about this film in a creative way.
Writing Reflection 05
See the instructions posted on the assignment's page.
This writing reflection is due on 4/9 at 5pm.
Mitch Altman Hardware Hacking Workshop Sign-Up
Famed hardware hacking Mitch Altman will be running two workshop sessions for the class the week of 4/15. Sign-Up for one workshop session on this sheet by 5pm on 4/8. (Participation in the workshop is part of your class participation grade.)
Once you have completed the readings, fill out the following quiz. It is based on both the readings for this week's classes. If you can't see it, try this direct link.