What is Open Source ?

All,
I will try to describe here what is Open Source in a very easy short way.
Open Source Software is/are FREE but being free is not enough you must get the SOURCE CODE as well.
That is a major difference between Open Source and Freeware for example.If you do not have the Source code, then it is not open source, and you must have the right to change it and republish BUT you must mention the original owner of the code in your document - in other words just respect other's work -.

Why I love Open Source ?
0) Open Source is great for Education, where you pay license fees comparable to the Hardware cost - I will talk about how we can use Open Souce in Education later.
1) I learn more for Open Source Software
2) Lots of options I have
3) Imagine that a Software company has the whole internet or every1 interested in software contributing to the code, what a HIGH QUALITY software it will be
then Open Source as a methodology enhances the QUALITY of the software
4) Open Source Software is great for underdevelopment world , where Software license is expensive to pay.
5) Open Source Software is great for a Software company - Any software company can start customizing an Open Source software instead of starting from scratch , which reduces the TCO "Total Cost of Ownership" and enhances the Quality of it's work, and of the open source project as well- mostly Win/Win situation.
6) Open Source Software is a sign of freedom, can you imagine that you do not have the ownership or control of the thing that you use most - we use our computers/mobile/PDA most of the time now , more than anything else -.
7) Security is another factor - you know exactly what that code does !!! , no spyware , no backdoors, no encryption key embedded by MicroSoft in the Windows code -.
8) it is a Community spirit.

How Software company can earn money then ???!!!!
Very interesting question , please review my post regarding Open Source Business Model presentation.

Is Open Source Software for Linux Only ?
No Open Source software exists for Linux as much as it exists for other major operating system for example
0) Windows has Open Source software - that is a separate post -
1) Linux has Open Source Software - as much it has proprietary software -
2) Solaris - Has Open Source Software -
3) MAX OSX - Has Open Source Software -
4) Nokia IPSO - Has Open Source Software - IPSO itself is a FreeBSD derivative
5) ProxySG - is a FreeBSD derivative.

Famous Open Source Software
o) Kernel is a famous open Source project - we will talk later about Kernel -
1) Linux - the Operating system itself is one of the very successful Open Source projects
2) OpenOffice
3) FireFox
4) Apache
5) MySQL
6) PostGres
long list to go

Open Source Operating System
0) Linux
1) ReactOS
2) Open Solaris

Is there is a way to run windows applications on LINUX ?
Yes, you can run windows applications on LINUX using WINE

Where I can find Open Source support
0) on the Internet by using Google !!!!!
1) many other places
2) geek2live.blogspot.com ---;;) here

I will try to talk on every thing listed on this page, and if you have any preferences please write to me.

Please If you need any help regarding Open Source please let me know, I will be more than happy to answer your question if I know the answer -;)))

Comments

Unknown said…
Among other "open source operating system" you also have

http://www.minix3.org/
http://haiku-os.org/
http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/
Samer Azmy said…
David,
My room mate, thankx for the add

But Hurd is a Kernel, and it was not completed, and the one who started writing this Kernel with my Dear Richard Stallman - one of the best minds - so you do you think that we still should list it as operating system.

and my first time to know about haiku-os.org

My compliments
Samer

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