| FLOSS: It's good for your health |
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| January 25, 2007 | |
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Freely Licensed Open Source Software (FLOSS) is an acronym that doesn't roll off the tongue (pun intended). But it is becoming more popular - especially as Linux invades military and mission critical systems everywhere.
Where's a good place to stay up-to-speed on FLOSS (and Linux)? Why, our very own www.mil-embedded.com - the website for Military Embedded Systems magazine. Or, check out one of my favorite podcasts: FLOSS Weekly with Leo Laporte and Chris DiBona. You'll find all 15 episodes here. -C2 PS: Tell Leo that I sent you. | |
written by Robert Dewar, February 15, 2007
Some people consider FLOSS to stand for Free/Libre Open Source Software, but I have pushed for the Freely Licensed form. Why? Because free always has a confusion in English between free (free to speak your mind), and free (free lunch). Libre in French is indeed unambiguous but not everyone speaks french these days. sometimes our company has used the slogan in France, GNAT, c'est libre, mais c'est n'est pas gratuit but that doesn't translate well (GNAT it's free but it's not free).
Anyway, the emphasis on free licensing is what's important. FLOSS software typically is no different from proprietary Microsoft software in that it is copyrighted software which can only be copied under certain circumstances. The big difference is the license, which is of course far freer. This freedom in the license is an unqualified advantage for the user. It means you can do everything you can do with Microsoft software and a lot more.
Note that you don't HAVE to take advantage of this extra freedom. For example, with Microsoft software you can't incorporate it into your own application at all. With FLOSS, you can, but then can only distribute under certain conditions. Assuming for the moment that the FLOSS is licensed under the GPL, you can if you like use it if you distribute your stuff under the GPL. If you don't like that idea, fine, don't incorporate the FLOSS. You are no worse off than in the Microsoft case. In practice, not everyone takes advantage of all the freedoms provided by the GPL (for instance our customers are not in the business of modifying GNAT and providing modified copies to others, though they could under the license terms). On the other hand, the freedom from dratted license keys is I think welcome for all users!