A Brave New Wikiworld
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| Interest in open-source software -- software whose "code" is available
| to users, so that they can improve it as they see fit -- has also
| risen dramatically. But the idea of open source is not limited to
| software.
|
| Open-source projects, some of which are emerging in medicine and
| biotechnology, dispense with the protection of intellectual property
| law so that numerous users can contribute to improvements. In the
| domain of health, open-source biotechnology projects such as
| Bioforge.net might end up saving numerous lives, especially
| but not only in poor countries. Well-funded projects claiming
| the protection of intellectual property law will often do much
| worse than cheaper ones that benefit from widespread
| collaboration. Other experiments involve open-source cars
| ( http://www.theoscarproject.org), open-source cellphones,
| open-source toys ( http://mindstorms.lego.com) and even
| open-source voting machines, which are designed to reduce
| the risk and appearance of fraud.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301596.html
http://tinyurl.com/2lehoq
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