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Open Source

I, too, am new to the concept of open source. I have acquired a simple understanding after looking through some of the suggested readings and class comments. As an educator, I'm excited about the possibility of world collaboration in any area of study. I try to promote cooperative learning in my classroom because I believe it will be crucial to our students to be able to work with their peers. Isn't open source just an expanded form of this? Also, I see open source as an opportunity for more people to learn source codes using a hands-on approach in a non-threatening atmosphere.

Judging from Netscape's advancements and the Linex operating system, it seems that open source software will soon have its place in the technology world. Software companies most likely won't hand out their source codes as readily as the "hackers" would like, however, they shouldn't be expected to. That would be like a chef passing out his recipe to his customers, rather self-defeating. Hopefully, shared knowledge will be the way of the future, and educational achievements, rather than economic gain will judge individual success.