Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software

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2008

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Duke University Press

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Abstract

This is a book about Free Software, also known as Open Source Software, and is meant for anyone who wants to understand the cultural significance of Free Software. Two Bits explains how Free Software works and how it emerged in tandem with the Internet as both a technical and a social form. Understanding Free Software in detail is the best way to understand many contentious and confusing changes related to the Internet, to “commons,” to software, and to networks. Whether you think first of e-mail, Napster, Wikipedia, MySpace, or Flickr; whether you think of the proliferation of databases, identity thieves, and privacy concerns; whether you think of traditional knowledge, patents on genes, the death of scholarly publishing, or compulsory licensing of AIDS medicine; whether you think of MoveOn.org or net neutrality or YouTube—the issues raised by these phenomena can be better understood by looking carefully at the emergence of Free Software.

Description

Refereed
Contents: Part I, THE INTERNET: 1. Geeks and Recursive Publics; 2. Protestant Reformers, Polymaths, Transhumanists; Part II, FREE SOFTWARE: 3. The Movement; 4. Sharing Source Code; 5. Conceiving Open Systems; 6. Writing Copyright Licenses; 7. Coordinating Collaborations; Part III, MODULATIONS: 8. "If We Succeed, We Will Disappear"; 9. Reuse, Modification, and the Nonexistence of Norms; Conclusion: The Cultural Consequences of Free Software

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Free Software, Open Source Software, Internet, collaboration, copyright, culture, commons, recursive publics, Ethnology

Citation

Kelty, Christopher. 2008. Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

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http://www.dukeupress.edu/books.php3?isbn=978-0-8223-4264-9
http://twobits.net/read/

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Table of Contents

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