The Relevance of Open Source

Here at CuriousWorks we are very interested in open source software. A piece of software is open source if the (source) code of the software is made available to everybody out there.

Two important facts are that all open source software is necessarily free and that anybody is able to edit the code and redistribute it according to how they see fit. There is an incredibly large open source community out there who are highly dedicated to the dissemination of free, DIY software and who are very much engaged in promoting discussion and collaboration on the larger ‘open source project’.

The Linux logo. They know cute.

An important example is OpenOffice, which is an open source version of Microsoft Office, a product which masses of people buy blindly without realising there are free alternatives.

So why is CuriousWorks interested in open source technology?

• it is free and accessible;
• open source software comes in all shapes and forms, from video editing software to music production software to operating systems;
• it specifically promotes both sharing and collaboration.

There are a couple of open source applications CuriousWorks has already used as part of Kinect, CuriousWorks’ research lab of technology for the arts: PureData (used by electronic musicians and other digital artists alike) and Processing (used for digital visual art among, of course, other things) have allowed us to build for very cheap interactive digital technologies (such as the infrared graffiti spray can and the boss machine, which you will be able to see in action very soon) which are used in our workshops. The infrared spray can allows the user to graffiti a wall with a projected image and was written entirely in Processing.

The point is that you can make some really cool accessible programs and people can use them for free. If they then get interested in coding they are able to hack the code in order to create their own stuff. It also really forces one to consider the importance of both technology and community in “the Arts”. But more of this to come.

An amazing example of open source software is Lily, which I will post about soon. In the meantime, check out a piece of Lily-based software which allows you to ‘play’ any website as a virtual instrument.