:: The Term Free in Open Source Software ::

1.      “Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.”  

2.     Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it means that the program's users have the four essential freedoms: 

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
• The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

---> Reference From ::

• http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

:: Advantages Of The Open Source Software ::

Below are some of the advantages that open source offers:

1.      Take control of your software  

·    Open source software gives you the power to control your software's code. You have the right to modify the code to suit your requirements and control the budgets that you want to spend towards it. Unlike proprietary software, where the vendor controls your code, upgrades and budgets -- with open source software, you control the upgrade process and can choose to decide which bugs to fix and when.

2.      Escape Vendor Lock-in

·    Disappointment and dissatisfaction with a vendor's support and service is a reality for all IT managers. Inability to customize software to meet your requirements or support your needs, further increases the frustration. Open source gives you the freedom to choose your preferred vendor giving you the flexibility.

3.      Lower cost of ownership

·   There are no license fees for an open source software, reducing annual license fees cost to zero. There is zero cost of scale, because open source doesn't require additional licenses as the installation grows.The only spends are towards the support for your software that ensure reliability and reduces running cost by at least 80%.

4.      Greater Security & Quality

·    Open source software is available publicly. A large amount of developers globally contribute and analyze the code making it more secure and constantly increasing the quality. The peer review process drive excellence in design.

5.      Continuity

·    It is possible that a proprietary software company shuts shop or decides to discontinue services for a software. With it goes the support and the future of the software. Open source software is not dependent on a single entity and gives users the advantage of the community. Any developer can choose to take up the software and continue from where it stopped.

--->Reference From ::
http://www.outsource2india.com/sotfware/articles/open-source- software.asp

What is Open Source Software ?

• Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software. 

• Some open source licenses meet the requirements of the Open Source Definition. Some open source software is available within the public domain.

• Open source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most prominent example of open-source development and often compared to (technically defined) user-generated content or (legally defined) open content movements. 

 

---> Reference From ::

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

:: History of Open Source ::

• In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the GNU Project to write a complete operating system free from constraints on use of its source code.

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• •In 1989, the first version of the GNU General Public License was published. A slightly updated version 2 was published in 1991. 

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• •In 1989, some GNU developers formed the company Cygnus Solutions.

• The Linux kernel, started by Linus Torvalds, was released as freely modifiable source code in 1991. 

• •The BSD lawsuit was settled out of court in 1993, FreeBSD and NetBSD (both derived from 386BSD

• KDE was founded in 1996 by Matthias Ettrich. At the time, he was troubled by the inconsistencies in UNIX applications. 

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• •In 1997, Eric Raymond published The Cathedral and the Bazaar, a reflective analysis of the hacker community and free software principles. The paper received significant attention in early 1998 and was one factor in motivating Netscape Communications Corporation to release their popular Netscape Communicator Internet suite as free software. This code is today better known as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird.

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• •In August 1999, Sun Microsystems released the StarOffice office suite as free software under the GNU Lesser General Public License. The free software version was renamed OpenOffice.org, and coexists with StarOffice. 

---> Reference From ::

• http://static.userland.com/userLandDiscussArchive/msg019844.html