Open source

MIT Technology Review has a story, The Tech Boom 2.0, that covers a point of view that I couldn’t agree with more.  I often use open-source software to develop high-end, robust, and full-featured websites and web systems for clients and our own projects.  Open-source software isn’t just for geeks anymore, but a viable basis for eBusiness development, services, education, and every other industry.

“We spent millions developing systems at MP3.com that are readily available today for free,” says Kostello. Open-source software covers a wide range of products, all with one thing in common: the source code is freely available to all to use and modify.

Despite the current hot-and-cold economy, don’t look for technology company launches to slow down. In fact, because of the improvements to open-source software and the commoditization of hardware, they’ll likely increase. These developments “lower the risk of starting a company,” says Kostello. “Since you don’t have to put out a lot of capital to start, you’re going to see a real creative wave of products.”

In a statement that will likely strike fear into the Suns, Oracles, and Microsofts, Levie assesses the attitude of his fellow 20-something entrepreneurs: “My extended network is all in the younger crowd. I don’t know anyone who’s not developing on Linux.”

Read the full article at MIT Technology Review.

Also see..
Open Source definition at Wikipedia.
The Open Source Initiative (nonprofit initiative).
Sourceforge (The world’s largest development and download repository of Open Source code and applications)