What is FOSS

What is FOSS

FOSS is an acroymn which refers to Free and Open Source Software.
Free Software, or just Open Source.
FOSS is the lowest risk choice for software systems today
All FOSS licenses require that the software remain available to use, modify, and distribute at no cost. Most FOSS licenses also include kind of a lawyer's version of the Golden Rule, requiring that all software modifications, such as bug fixes and enhancements, must also be made available under the same license - with permission to use, modify, and distribute at no cost.
With the best long-term investment protection, FOSS is the lowest risk choice for software systems today.
Not to be confused with Free software, open source software, or freeware. Free and open-source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free/libre/open-source software (FLOSS) is software that is both free and open source.
It is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, copy, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code.


Foss News “In India, open source software will have to come and stay in a big way, for the benefit of our billion people,” Dr A P J Abdul Kalam once said. Dr Kalam’s words will only come true when our education system includes Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the curriculum,

The Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) movement stands for freedom for the production, distribution,
modification and use of software. A free and collaborative environment with open standards is best
suited for large scale development and deployment of quality software, unleashing creativity and productivity,
leading to lower costs and higher quality of SW/IT products and solutions.

FOSS is now well established, both as a Technology and as a way of creating Technology. Today’s mainstream SW/IT Market has a broad range of Open Source Tools, Technologies, Products and Solutions ; and they are there as much for reasons of lower cost as for technological superiority. Operating Systems, Data Bases, Web Servers, Data Base Servers, Internet&Web Technologies, Programming Languages, Applications of all types -- Open Source has them all.  Relevance and value of FOSS , especially to the Indian context, arise from the following, among other things:
Advantages
• FOSS is low cost and affordable.
• FOSS makes design details & code freely available.
• FOSS is easy to modify & customise.
• FOSS products are getting robust and superior.
• FOSS & Open Standards prevent vendor-lockin
• FOSS helps eliminate use of un-licensed SW.
• FOSS embodies healthier and humane values.

What is FOSS