Internet Resources on Open Source Software

Joel’s research interests includes the use of open source software by information technology producers. Listed below are his favorite resources. See also Joel’s own research on open source software and SJSU’s Silicon Valley Open Source Research Project.

Academic Research

• Workshop on Open Source Software at the Academy of Management, August 13, 2006
• HICSS-40 (Jan. 2007) call for papers on Open Source Software Development
• List of academic sites for open source research at the Silicon Valley Open Source Research Project
• Norte Dame’s SourceForge data repository

News Sites

• Slashdot
• LinuxInsider
• LinuxWorldNews
• LinuxDevices.com

Learning About Open Source

For newcomers to open source, the single best resource is the JTS Moore documentary, Revolution OS, available on DVD. The astute observer gets insights into personalities and motivations not available from the printed page. Here are some other recommended sources.

Academic Articles

• MIT Free/Open Source research working papers
• List of special issues on Open Source Software
• Google Scholar list of open source articles

Books

I have 14 books on open source in my bookcase, paid for with my own money. These are the ones I’d recommend:

• Chris DiBona, Sam Ockman and Mark Stone, eds., Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, Sebastopol, Calif.: O’Reilly, 1999.
• Lawrence Rosen, Open Source Licensing: Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR, 2005.
• Mikko Välimäki , The Rise of Open Source Licensing: A Challenge to the Use of Intellectual Property in the Software Industry, Helsinki: Turre Publishing, 2005.
• Glyn Moody, Rebel Code: the inside story of Linux and the open source revolution, Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Pub., 2001.
  • Runner up/alternate: Linus Torvalds and David Diamond, Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary, New York: HarperBusiness, 2001.

Primary Documents

• Open Source Definition (Open Source Initiative)
• Free Software Definition (Richard Stallman/Project GNU/Free Software Foundation)
• The Cathedral and the Bazaar (Eric Raymond)
• “Halloween” Memo (attributed to Microsoft)

Last Updated August 13, 2006

Joel West.org: [home page] [Consulting] [Research] [Teaching]