What is Free-Libre Open Source software?

Free-Libre Open source software is computer software whose source code is available under a license that permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. That license gives the end user the right to use it freely for private or commercial use. When distributing modified FLOSS, you must pass on the modified source code. This protects the developer's work from unfair exploitation by others, while allowing the source code to be released to the community. FLOSS is often developed in a public, collaborative manner.

In contrast to FLOSS, freeware is not the same thing. The free in "free-libre" stands for the freedom to use the software and to be able to modify and redistribute it. Those freedoms allow people to collaborate and improve the software. Freeware does not protect those rights and so it typically is not of as high quality. FLOSS licensing means that the software will always be free. Freeware makes no such promise, in fact freeware applications usually do not stay free of cost for long.

The FLOSS business model is one of services and support. For example, the most popular web server on the internet is Apache and it is free-libre open source software. FLOSS supports a big part of the IT industry and represents a multi-billion dollar business.

The ability to obtain, use, and cutomize world-class software without prohibitive fees and licensing makes FLOSS an excellent choice in the computer services industry.

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