What kind of way is this to develop history?

One with a long tradition - the Oxford Dictionary was begun similarly. And so was the software at the heart of the newest computers at Hollywood's animation studios - Linux.

Linux (an operating system, like Windows) is the best known open-source software. Linux was essentially created by programmers all over the world—programmers having nothing in common but the desire to make a better operating system than, say....well, the one made in Redmond, WA.

By many standards, they were successful. Linux being used, improved, and sold by companies like Dell, IBM, and HP. The National Center for Supercomputing has announced that their next supercomputing complex will be built with Linux.

The Linux way of creating and licensing software has spread to many other projects.

Say you create something - a web site, a dynamic map, an article. You don't want to commit to a lifetime of maintaining it. Nor do you want it to die away completely once you've moved on

Open source licensing gives you a new option: you make your creation available to others with a license that gives you certain rights and levies on those who use your creation, certain responsibilities.

Learn More about Open Software

As we put together a program here, it may be useful to read up on open source:

The Open Source Initiative All about the process, history, success of open source products.
The Open Source Definition Terms a product must
meet to be considered open source.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar Famous white paper / book, written by a founder of the OSI, Eric Raymond.
Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, Chris DiBona, et. al., O'Reilly. Good book.
The Linux Kernel Archives This is the home of the original (continuing) core linux project.

Let us know what you think, what will be helpful. ej0c@raex.com