The terms Free Software and Open Source Software often are used interchangeably though a certain Robert Stallman could have a thing or two to say about that. The first of these refers to freedom in the sense that you can do whatever you want with the software. That even means reprogramming it if it doesn’t do what you need. The whole concept began in the mid-1980′s and has grown since then.
The term Open Source means that you can look at the source code though that apparently doesn’t mean that you always can do what you want with it. For that, it needs to be in the software licence and that’s where GPL, the GNU Public Licence, comes though there also are competing licences such as those from BSD, which are far more permissive and business-friendly.
What GPL and it counterparts do not restrict is the ability to earn money from the software. You only have to look at what Red Hat earns to see that it can be done. It also means that open source software (even the copylefted GPL-licensed variety) need not be free of charge.
In practice though, it is amazing what you get without paying for it. Whole Linux distributions with a wide selection of software coming with the operating system are a big example and there are many different ones too. When you see what Microsoft offers for a fee, it could come as a fair shock.
With that in mind, I though it useful to offer an insight into the world of open source software, especially give how much choice there is. It’s good to have options though that they can confound when they’re so many. However, recent instances of new software releases not being to users’ tastes make it a more important attribute that ever before.
There used to be a single list of what I though worth highlighting but that’s been divided now it got every, very long. Here are the categories that I have used for dividing up things so that they might be more useful:
While Ubuntu or Linux Mint are among the most prominent of the Linux bunch, there are others. The, there are UNIX counterparts, largely based on BSD UNIX as it happens, too. As if that weren’t all, some Linux distros are looking at using BSD UNIX kernels too so that cannot be ignored either.
Once upon a time, Ubuntu was the answer to anyone starting to use Linux for the first time but the water has been muddied by the incorporation of the Unity desktop environment. While Linux Mint might be my suggestion these days, the Ubuntu community still have a lot to offer so it would be rude to ignore them. Thus, they get their place here.
This selection is all desktop software and then only a little sample of what there is to be found. Some make their way onto installation discs but others have to be sought. All should do the work for which they’re designed, though.
While other operating systems typical offer you one interface at a time, Linux and UNIX have a tendency to offer plenty of choice. Sometimes, it’s the cause of controversy too although major changes made to the two main players have meant less arguments between any advocates for either. In their stead, we have had moaning about what an open source project has done on its users. Hopefully, that will subside though a meeting of minds may be needed for that in one case.
UNIX and Linux tend to attract those with an interest in technical computing so programming and scripting languages remain an integral part of those operating systems as can databases too. Here’s a few of each.