The Battle for Westnoth first review

As asked in the Open Source Management course I have started to play The Battle for Westnoth a bit. I have got acquainted to it through the tutorials and also tried out some campaigns. The beginning was rather rough but I guess it is normal for an unexperienced player.

My first impression was not very positive as I am not a great fan of games like that at all. But what I was wrong about, was the way it really works. The idea that you can take as much time to think through your next step as you need was surprising. I thought that time matters. So I discovered that it gives a great challenge to strategical thinking.

The game has a set of characters and settings that form the whole thing and I need some more time to realise the possibilities and complexity of it. I will go on discovering the strategy and the possibilities in the game. After making bigger efforts to playing, I will try out some simple modifications in code and also designing new maps.

Even if not being such a fan of playing games, I am excited about the outcome of our team work as well as the whole course. The game and the additions or modifications to be done will surely be teaching us the OSM through a very realistic experience.

FSF vs OSI

Free Software Foundation and Open Source Initiation - the two terms have evolved from the same principle - being against the proprietary software. While being on the same side in this matter, the two movements differ in basic principles. The FSF stresses the freedom and is therefore not willing to be connected to OSI from which mentioning freedom has dropped out.

There has been a lot of buzz around the terms used. Both movements question the choice of the other's name as they were confusing and not clearly presenting the main idea of the movement. "Open source" initiators proposed to replace free software with open source everywhere but Richard Stallman has been against it and insists on standing for the concept of freedom.

A difference also lies in the use of licenses - OSI has accepted some licenses that FSF would not approve. Nevertheless, the main contradiction is in the philosophy and other values besides the question which should the software development really look like.

All in all my opinion is that the movements aimed the same until one started fighting/standing for the idea of freedom and the other went more realistic and practical way to support the same type of software development. Free software is a social movement, open source is a development methodology and this makes the change between the way those movements act and which are their aims.

Aquarium MockUp

Interactive Digital TV Program II

Interactive TV show II - guide or direct the acrobats or for example dancers. It would be a cultural, artistic and also a study program. Normally there is action going on and a list of steps or elements (keywords) on the side with the phone number for texting.

As a keyword is sent by a viewer, the clip with according element or step is presented. Then, either the next element will be presented if there was another message, or the default improvisational show goes on.

There could be several shows with different styles (classical, street-dance, pop etc.) and in case of numerous messages a routine could be formed based on the sequence of "ordered" elements.

Interactive Digital TV - Program Concept

Peeter Oja and Piret Laurimaa on the TV3 show "Vilde Tee"

My solution here is an elaboration to the idea we worked out yesterday with Maibritt and Kirke. The task was to come up with an idea for interactive TV program and explain it through the functionality or flowchart, some possible show set and photos for illustrating the feeling of the show.

The show would be based on improvisational theater - actors on stage begin with some default play and will be guided by sentences given by for example show leader. The sentences will be shown on screen with phone numbers of each actor. The audience can then call or send a text message to vote which actor has to act the situation out.

I suppose there should be a time limit, maybe 1 minute, for voting. The results are also shown on screen live and as the time is up, the show will go on according to the vote results. Soon next sentence shall be on the screen.

On the mock-up there is the possible screen during the show. The time limit on left, text provided by the show and possible actors at the right. The layout needs to be reconsidered in case of more actors on stage.

While in search of a photo for describing the atmosphere of the show I became to another possible

Week 11: Free Software vs Open Source

There are several expressions in use in the field of software licensing to describe the software and its conditions to use. Open source and free software are two approaches which are often confused. To compare to the proprietary software these two stand at one side but still they are not the same.

The founders of open source approach did not approve all the ideas of Richard Stallman - the founder of free software approach - and started their own initiation.

In 2002 to ZDNet interview Richard Stallmann has stated his view to the differences between the free software and open source approach:

The open-source movement differs from the free-software movement in that they never say we're entitled to these freedoms -- the freedom to study and change and redistribute. They never say it's particularly wrong for software to be proprietary; they say they don't particularly like it. They would rather that software is not proprietary, but they will never say that it's wrong. Whereas we in the free-software movement say our freedom is at stake here; don't you dare try to get us to use proprietary software. I don't want it in my life.

As I get it, both open source and free software enthusiasts are producing software to be used with no fee, with openly shared source and peer production. Both agree that you can make business with your products (meaning also to sell them) but not to make it proprietary. A great difference is that free software supporters do not agree with any kind of proprietary software but the open source supporters do not fight against it.

Week 10-2: Copying restrictions

With emergence of digital information making copies and distributing it has become very easy and prevention of it much more complicated. Big companies profiting from proprietary distribution have come up with numerous ways to fight for their income and rights to their products. Is it the question of digital rights or digital restriction? Are the restrictions useful?

One can agree to the need to protect the income and rights to products and the will to restrict unauthorized copying by the corporations - it is their money they will lose. "Their" in the meaning that they have already counted on it and the law formally is still on their side. But as the world is changing an intellectual property regulations under question by already great amount of users, the things have changed ant the corporations need to come up with new measures.

Tapscott and Williams in Wikinomics bring an example of Sony Corporation programming the restriction of three copies per OS user on their discs. The user playing the disc did not know that a piece of software was installed automatically to send information back to Sony where as more personal information was sent than on the copying process. Sony argued that no harm was done and a regular user had no idea anyway what was going on, so it did not hurt. The discs wre called back from market butthousands of users were already "infected". This is a measure for the company that goes way too far and for the company will be worse rather than useful as it will not be a secret for long.

The restrictions made are not acceptable the users today and the ways to go around are found. To protect against massive unauthosized copying some other new measures must be found while the restrictions that interfere to users rights and privacy won't stand still. With growing community of free and open-source software supporters and the new generation of people growing in digital world the corporations also need to find new ways.