mission
Open Source
Unnoticed by the public audience, determined and dedicated defenders of freedom have managed to fight off an overwhelming force of mercenaries in a battle for the most defining communication means of our times.
The difference the
Open Source community has made can't be overstated. Without them, the Internet would be ruled by Microsoft by now and prices would bar the entry for small organizations and publishers. It would have become a property.
That this would be prevented was far from obvious, the success of
Linux and
Apache was somewhat surprising and happened just in time. Commercial players where well on their way.
Instead, today the majority of the knots that the Web consists of, is run by powerfull, free software, created in
collaboration by thousands of programmers from all over the world. It is more reliable, more secure, more open and affordable than all of its commercial counterparts, allowing the Internet to continue to grow.
"Many big companies and organizations have embraced Linux in recent years because of its chief virtue: It's free. Developed and maintained by a loose confederation of engineers, Linux is available to anyone and can be modified by users, challenging the traditional model of software controlled and licensed to others by a single entity such as Microsoft Corp. " — Jonathan Krim, Washington Post in
Showdown With The Linux Gang, Thursday, June 10, 2004; Page E01
