Why Open Source and How We are Shaping the Future

It’s been over twenty years since Linux birth and it grown up to become the most successful collaborative endeavor of all time. Linus’ little project now cumulatively powers more servers, mobile phones and other embedded systems than any other operating system. Linux runs our economy and touches the lives of literally every single human being on the planet in one way, shape or form. Time Magazine named Linux Torvalds the 17th most influential man of the century 20th century. No longer do we have to defend the viability of Linux it’s been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. So where do we go from here? We’ll explore how the Linux and open source community can build upon their success for the betterment of technology and the world around them.

During this time our cell phones and our computers have gone through exponential improvement, though fields like medicine struggle in many years where technology has not improved in over 100 years. If our phones didn't make the leap from 3G to 4G or our hard drive write speeds didn't increase, we'd be up in arms yet we are almost apethetic to the fact that tuberculosis drugs haven't improved significantly in 50 years and yet it remains the number two pathogenic killer of adults in the world. Or take prosthetic devices like the Dorrance Hook for arm amputees that is over 100 years old and still in wide spread use despite the fact that it provides only the most basic substition for the human hand. These are but a few of the  shotcomings in the medical field in large part due to a culture that covets medical knowledge and eschews collaboration.  Imagine if an equal amount of  effort that has driven Github to over five million users was applied to the medical field?

Mass collaboration and sharing of interlectual property shouldn't stop with information technology. Government, medical and all areas of scientific endeavor can and should benefit from Open Source and you could help by influencing your peers in other industries and the public sector. Find out why and how this could make a difference in the quality of life of millions and people and how our movement in software can and will shape the future of the world.