What does "open source" mean to me?
Open source means a shared resource, something that is passed from person to person, and where each person modifies and improves the original so that the result is something greater than what a single person could produce. A complex web of minds, linked together in the pursuit of perfection, is what produced some of the greatest open source developments of the age. Mozilla Firefox, Linux, and many other projects proudly display to the world the possibilities that open source software holds for the future of technology and code.
Open source software opens up a world of possibilities. A single programmer can only do so much, but just imagine what the next programmer can do to improve on the work of the first. Mattie Stepanek said that "unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." Strength and determination can be found in sharing a project with other great minds, and is the key to fostering some of the most prominent technological developments that surround us today.
As open source software grows in importance, it becomes exceedingly vital to educate the next generation of engineers, programmers, and thinkers to utilize and contribute to the open source community. FOSSASIA's mission is to "bring people together to share, create, develop and make things with Open Technologies and software." It recognizes the importance of expanding the open source network, and firmly believes in allowing people to have access to the tools and knowledge they need to succeed. Visit http://fossasia.org to find out more!
I think that open source is the future, and the way to get there is to expand the community that makes it great.
J. Albert Bowden II via Flickr
