| Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision |
| foss:open_source [2026/08/18 12:11] – [What is free & open source software?] Simon Grant | foss:open_source [2026/08/18 23:21] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
|---|
| |
| |
|  |
| ](https://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/wp-content/uploads/free-open-source.jpg) | |
| |
| --- | --- |
| Over 4% of the world's computers have an open source operating system (the free equivalent of MS Windows or Mac OS), but you can also run FOSS on a closed source operating system. Examples include Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (email client), Libre Office (word processing, spreadsheets etc.), GIMP (image manipulation), MySQL (database) and VLC (media player) - and even the operating system itself (GNU/Linux). | Over 4% of the world's computers have an open source operating system (the free equivalent of MS Windows or Mac OS), but you can also run FOSS on a closed source operating system. Examples include Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (email client), Libre Office (word processing, spreadsheets etc.), GIMP (image manipulation), MySQL (database) and VLC (media player) - and even the operating system itself (GNU/Linux). |
| |
| <WRAP center centeralign 100%> | <WRAP center centeralign> |
| <figure> | <figure> |
| |
| {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/P_mS4CIXcLY 560,315}} | {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/P_mS4CIXcLY}} |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| <figure> | <figure> |
| |
| {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ag1AKIl_2GM 560,315}} | {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ag1AKIl_2GM}} |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| One thing to note - yes, free software can have no cost, but anyone is welcome to sell it. Say you modify and package up some free software utility programs and put them on a disc - you may sell that package. You must however give the source code back to the community for no cost. | One thing to note - yes, free software can have no cost, but anyone is welcome to sell it. Say you modify and package up some free software utility programs and put them on a disc - you may sell that package. You must however give the source code back to the community for no cost. |
| |
| Free software is a type of '[commoning](/comg/commoning)' - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia), the free encyclopedia, is another famous example. The approach can be used for problem-solving too - it's sometimes used in medical research. And who knows, maybe one day we'll have free & open source government. | Free software is a type of '[commoning](/comg/commoning)' — [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia), the free encyclopedia, is another famous example. The approach can be used for problem-solving too - it's sometimes used in medical research. And who knows, maybe one day we'll have free & open source government. |
| |
| |