Work for it. Care about it.

I am a computer science student, and as such, I have learned a lot about open-source software. I recently had the opportunity to work on a project called OpenSeadragon during my internship at FamilySearch.org. I found working on the project deeply satisfying. I was able to contribute to code many people use, simultaneously contributing back to the open-source community that I rely on so much as a programmer. A year ago, I knew almost nothing about open-source software. Now I feel strongly that it is an initiative worth supporting and contributing to. It is because of the effort I invested into open-source that I care so much.

Another example of this can be seen in Cliff Stoll's personal account of chasing a hacker in his book, The Cuckoo's Egg. Because of Stoll's background as an astronomy student and a programmer, he recognized the value of computer networks and research sharing. But it wasn't until he worked for months to catch a hacker in his system that he really began to feel passionate about network security. Usually we invest in what we care about, but just as often we care about what we invest in.

Piracy and intellectual property

I respect copyright. When I need an image to use in a PowerPoint presentation, I use Google's advanced image search to find images with a non-restrictive license. If someone is going to go to the effort to produce something awesome, they have a right to charge for use or not. This makes me appreciate movements in open-source and ad-based products because they let me use great products without paying. As a programmer, I use open-source software all the time. As a consumer, I often watch YouTube and read web comics and I am happy to disable my ad-blocker for these and other sites I visit frequently (as long as the ads are appropriate). It bothers me how people disrespect others' intellectual property. I hope that we, as a global society, can learn to respect the effort that others make to create great things.

Post inspired by: Think piracy is killing the music industry? This chart suggests otherwise.

Working with intellectual property is scary

The other day Goldman Sachs was at my college campus trying to recruit computer programmers. As the recruiters described how wonderful it is to work for Goldman Sachs, I couldn't help but recall an article I read about how Goldman Sachs prosecuted a former employee, Sergey Aleynikov, for stealing intellectual property. I don't know all the details of the case, but essentially, Aleynikov was trying to do what was right and legally required by open source software licenses and contribute code that he created back to the open source community. I would never work for a company like Goldman Sachs, because I believe that open-source is a good thing and ought to be promoted, not discouraged.

You can check out some of these articles for more information about the trial: Vanity Fair, Above the Law, Forbes