Free And Open Source Software Foss Explained
In the spirit of FOSS, anyone can edit this article
Free and open source software means just that- software that is free, (free as in free speech) and has the source code available for any to use modify and redistribute. The Debian Project, a respected Linux distro defines open source software in its social contract:
There are other definitions, yes, and people will fight over issues such as licenses. What matters to you as the user is that the software is yours to use however you want, provided you don't claim it to be yours or in some cases try to relicense parts of the code under a different license.
Early on in the history of computers software either wasn't licensed or was licensed like a book or other work of writing. Soon however, companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Apple began to license software under tight licenses that robbed others of the source, put time bombs in office suits, and tried to limit peoples rights over their software. So it was from a culture of hippies and hackers that Richard Stallman founded GNU, a project seeking to build a 100% free UNIX compatible OS, in 1983. Over the next eight years GNU built all the tools needed for such an OS- minus the kernel, the very center. This came in 1991, when Linus Torvalds released his now famous Linux kernel, the last piece. Quickly distros such as Slackware, SLS, and Debian rose to fill the role of the OS Stallman and others had dreamed of. Around the same time, The University of Berkeley began purging their OS, BSD or Berkeley Software Distribution, to include only FOSS code. Later, when Berkeley announced that they would be pulling funding soon, developers forked it in to two new BSDs- NetBSD and FreeBSD, which latter again forked into DragonflyBSD and OpenBSD, leaving all four as we know them today. FOSS software doesn't by definition have anything to do with the GNU, Linux or BSD, but they form the majority of the software, making talking about FOSS without Linux or BSD unthinkable. Other notable FOSS software includes Google's Chromium (debranded and cutting edge chrome) Firefox, and LibreOffice. Some well known GNU software you may already know includes Gimp and GParted.
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Luckily for us, there is FOSS alternatives for almost everything. Libreoffice takes office, Linux and *BSD take windows, Firefox and Chromium replace Internet Explorer, Thunderbird replaces outlook and Gimp replaces Photoshop. Theres software for everything- and its all free, free and open source. Recommended Linux distros include Debian, Fedora, Arch, and many others. Google is your friend. Avoid distros with the generic linux kernel or provide out-of-the-box support for things like mp3s and wmvs.
To see what packages on your linux system may be non-free, I suggest downloading and running vrms. Ignore contrib, they are free but may link to non-free. if there’s none in non free, your good (because if there’s nothing there then contrib didn't link to them)
What is FOSS?
Free and open source software means just that- software that is free, (free as in free speech) and has the source code available for any to use modify and redistribute. The Debian Project, a respected Linux distro defines open source software in its social contract:
- Free redistribution
- Inclusion of source code
- Allowing for modifications and derived works.
- Integrity of the author's source code (as a compromise).
- No discrimination against persons or groups.
- No discrimination against fields of endeavor, like commercial use.
- The license needs to apply to all to whom the program is redistributed.
- License must not be specific to Debian, basically a reiteration of the previous point.
- License must not contaminate other software.
- The GPL, BSD, and Artistic licenses are examples of licenses considered free.
There are other definitions, yes, and people will fight over issues such as licenses. What matters to you as the user is that the software is yours to use however you want, provided you don't claim it to be yours or in some cases try to relicense parts of the code under a different license.
Why This is Good
- Freedom! To change/customize Windows you have to hack it, but you can change GNU/Linux in just about every way and any way you please.
- Portability. Even if you will never change the code yourself, having it open to anybody means its much more likely to be ported to different platforms. This means programs like GIMP and LibreOffice are available for just about every FOSS OS.
- Options. Linux Mint didn't like Gnome 3. So they changed it, and now you the user, have one more choice. This is not possible to the same level if the code isn't FOSS. This kind of splintering gives users nearly endless options.
- It's free. This time I mean free of cost, too, because its difficult to charge for something where the source is out there for free.
Some History
Early on in the history of computers software either wasn't licensed or was licensed like a book or other work of writing. Soon however, companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Apple began to license software under tight licenses that robbed others of the source, put time bombs in office suits, and tried to limit peoples rights over their software. So it was from a culture of hippies and hackers that Richard Stallman founded GNU, a project seeking to build a 100% free UNIX compatible OS, in 1983. Over the next eight years GNU built all the tools needed for such an OS- minus the kernel, the very center. This came in 1991, when Linus Torvalds released his now famous Linux kernel, the last piece. Quickly distros such as Slackware, SLS, and Debian rose to fill the role of the OS Stallman and others had dreamed of. Around the same time, The University of Berkeley began purging their OS, BSD or Berkeley Software Distribution, to include only FOSS code. Later, when Berkeley announced that they would be pulling funding soon, developers forked it in to two new BSDs- NetBSD and FreeBSD, which latter again forked into DragonflyBSD and OpenBSD, leaving all four as we know them today. FOSS software doesn't by definition have anything to do with the GNU, Linux or BSD, but they form the majority of the software, making talking about FOSS without Linux or BSD unthinkable. Other notable FOSS software includes Google's Chromium (debranded and cutting edge chrome) Firefox, and LibreOffice. Some well known GNU software you may already know includes Gimp and GParted.
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Replacing your software with FOSS alternitives
Luckily for us, there is FOSS alternatives for almost everything. Libreoffice takes office, Linux and *BSD take windows, Firefox and Chromium replace Internet Explorer, Thunderbird replaces outlook and Gimp replaces Photoshop. Theres software for everything- and its all free, free and open source. Recommended Linux distros include Debian, Fedora, Arch, and many others. Google is your friend. Avoid distros with the generic linux kernel or provide out-of-the-box support for things like mp3s and wmvs.
Links for those Interested in joining the cause
Some intros and definitions to FOSS (free and open source software)
http://www.debian.org/intro/free
http://opensource.org/docs/osd
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Two activist groups
http://www.fsf.org/
http://opensource.org/
If your ready to get started,
http://www.fsf.org/working-together/moving/
And may I suggest...
http://www.debian.org/
http://www.archlinux.org/
http://fedoraproject.org/
Three common distros that use all open source software with little exception. Google is your friend in finding what is and isn't free. Many lists vary as there are some different opinions as to what is and isn't free. Avoid distros using the generic Linux kernel, or those which offer out-of-the-box support for things such as mp3s and wmvs.
http://www.debian.org/intro/free
http://opensource.org/docs/osd
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Two activist groups
http://www.fsf.org/
http://opensource.org/
If your ready to get started,
http://www.fsf.org/working-together/moving/
And may I suggest...
http://www.debian.org/
http://www.archlinux.org/
http://fedoraproject.org/
Three common distros that use all open source software with little exception. Google is your friend in finding what is and isn't free. Many lists vary as there are some different opinions as to what is and isn't free. Avoid distros using the generic Linux kernel, or those which offer out-of-the-box support for things such as mp3s and wmvs.
To see what packages on your linux system may be non-free, I suggest downloading and running vrms. Ignore contrib, they are free but may link to non-free. if there’s none in non free, your good (because if there’s nothing there then contrib didn't link to them)
for your sigs
Code:
[B]I support [URL="http://www.overclock.net/a/free-and-open-source-software-foss-explained"][COLOR="Blue"]Free and Open Source Software[/COLOR][/URL] and so should you![/B]
If you care about freedom, switch to FOSS
# No discrimination against fields of endeavor, like commercial use.
if the guy can decide not to give it out, its not free. and its a bad idea. as soon as he can decide, he can charge people to modify it... and then we pay for it. in freedom, and money.
if you want something close to that thou with out being to far from free, the lgpl. the code is open but can use non-free librarys and dependencies. for me thou, free software is a moral. the one exception I have made over time is folding at home, which currently dosn't work in debian (debian changed something)