The Success of Open Source Author:Steven Weber Much of the innovative programming that powers the Internet, creates operating systems, and produces software is the result of "open source" code, that is, code that is freely distributed by those who write it. Leaving source code open has generated some of the most sophisticated developments in computer technology, including, most notably, Linu... more »x and Apache, which pose a significant challenge to Microsoft in the marketplace. "A valuable new account of the [open-source software] movement." —Edward Rothstein, New York Times "In the world of open-source software, true believers can be a fervent bunch. Linux, for example, may act as a credo as well as an operating system. But there is much substance beyond zealotry, says Steven Weber, the author of The Success of Open Source … An open-source operating system offers its source code up to be played with, extended, debugged, and otherwise tweaked in an orgy of user collaboration. The author traces the roots of that ethos and process in the early years of computers … He also analyzes the interface between open source and the worlds of business and law, as well as wider issues in the clash between hierarchical structures and networks, a subject with relevance beyond the software industry to the war on terrorism." —Nina C. Ayoub, Chronicle of Higher Education« less