tandy100.ico the Model100 Open Source Initiative open cource logo

what is a Model100 ?

   The TRS80 model 100 (and later model102 and 200) was one of the first notebook computers. It was revolutionary then and still remarkably functional today. They are light weight, rugged, and will run on AA batteries for days. Radio Shack sold  more than 6,000,000 of these units and those who like them, like them a lot. Notebooks and accessories are still available and active development and community can still be found on the web and via mailing lists.

what is Open Source ?

   Computer programs are first created in a human readable "source code" before being compiled into a more efficient form called binary. All writen works, including computer programs, are automatically protected by copyrights. The author can choose to grant or restrict the use of the work by others, by simply including, or even referring to, a copyright notice.  "Open source" is a general term for a licensing model that expressly allows anyone to use, copy or modify the source code. The most common open source license is the General Public License , or GPL.

what is the initiative ?

   As a result of conversations on the m100 mailing list (m100@30below.com) it was recognised that ongoing development of m100 related projects (and, by extension, all model 100 users) would benefit greatly from access to open source code. A decision was made to collect existing m100 software already licensed as OSS, in a new archive, and to ask authors of important legacy code to re-license their work for inclusion.

why would I want to do that ?

   By allowing other developers to look at, modify and re-distribute your work, you are providing the building blocks so the software can just keep getting better. If others don't have to "re-invent the wheel" that lets them cover new ground and tackle new problems. Those using your code, under the GPL, will be free to learn from it, add to it, even sell it, with one restriction; they must make their modifications available back to the community. That way everybody wins.

what now ?

   If you are the author of software written for the model 10x family of computers, or you have aquired the rights, we encourage you license it under the GPL and to make it available to users and other developers. It's as simple as adding a GPL copyright notice to  a zipped archive of your work and submitting it for inclusion in the m100-oss files archive.