The Layers of Truth | Let Them Fail

The Layers of Truth | Let Them Fail

Open Source Ecology

The video posted above explains a new process some clever guys have come up with to reproduce commonly used machines at a fraction of the price. The process is considered open source because all of the plans are available freely online. This is a great example of how open source ideas can lead to real world reproduction that can save everyone time and money. Producing things in a free and open way gives people the opportunity to have an input and is more efficient than competition from companies.

I truly believe this is the future of production for many common things found in society today. By producing as a collective, you eliminate the need for competition which allows for "cutting edge" technology to be released concurrently alongside of its discovery. Instead of being kept from public eye for future profits. Just like the first iPad didn't have a forward facing camera, technology won't be hidden. I believe this benefits everyone involved and truly is the future of production.

SAP

SAP is the largest enterprise level software developer in the world. When a company like SAP decides to start using open-source platforms and code to manage it's own operations, it's a big move. As Claus von Riegen, SAP's program director of technology standards and open source, states "We have a lot of areas where we develop our own software, but there are a lot of commodity areas where we don't need to differentiate ourselves." That's where open-source software fills in the gap.

SAP isn't just "leeching" off the open-source community, they are also very large contributors. Recently SAP contributed 1.8 million lines to the Eclipse project, making it the third-largest corporate contributor. So it's not all about making money, SAP can contribute in a meaningful way to the community. This move signals to the market that open-source software won't necessarily kill for-profit software development, in fact, it may help produce this proprietary software even faster. Like the famous poet Ralf Waldo Emerson said, "Our best thoughts come from others".