A lot of companies are using the term 'Open-Software' very liberal. It's just
a marketing thing. But the basic rule of 'Open-Software' is simple: Open
Software is software that allows you to take a look at the very basics of the
program, the 'source-code'. Usually, the source-code is compiled
into machine-readable code and thus unavailable.
Free software is 'Open-Software' (also called 'FOSS', Free Open Source Software) which is free to distribute and modify,
provided that you don't sell someone else's work as your own.
Why should somebody do something and give it away for free? Free software is
a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of
'free' as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer... writes the Free Software
Foundation [Read more..
]
