Benjamin Himes, PhD

Open Source Philosophy:

I believe that it is entirely possible to have a profitable business or run a successful research lab without the need for secrecy or knowledge hoarding. The prominent software development model of the past was to hide your code and attempt to patent your algorithms in order to maintain a competitive edge. On the surface, this may seem reasonable: "If someone can download my source code, why would they buy it?" Given sufficient time, this may be a true concern, however, with the speed that the digital world is evolving, the benefit of free software greatly outweighs its cost, paid in dividends of AGILITY.

I also understand that there are times when it pays to keep an idea or process private. That is why we provide the option to use plugins to embargo resources we develop for your project for an agreed-upon time and condition. Please note there will never be 100% opacity, as the interface to your plugin will remain in the public domain, such that it will be possible to know "Company A is using a custom algorithm to do something related to task B."