What is FOSS?
According to Wikipedia, Free and open-source software (FOSS) is computer software that can be classified as both free software and open-source software.That is, anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software.
Why to Use FOSS?
- Stability: Should there be a serious bug, a fix to the bug will be released within a
matter of days, whereas it might take months for commercial software
vendors (such as Windows) to do the same. For the simple reason that the vulnerabilities
get fixed soon, there aren't many viruses that plague OSS (Operational Support System).
- Freedom: One has absolute freedom to do whatever he/she wants with the software. No
one's locking you down from taking a look at the code, making and
breaking it should you feel like. No one's stopping you from being
creative with the amazing piece of software that you already have.
- Security: One can either work with software that he/she has no idea or assurance as
to how it handles your data or he/she can work with software that is
trusted by millions worldwide. Also, the fact that the source code is
available makes it less prone to security vulnerabilities, because
"given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow".
- Reliability: Free software gets the whole community involved in working together to
fix problems. Users not only report bugs, they even fix bugs and send in
fixes.
Free software packages do not always compete commercially, but they
still compete for a good reputation, and a program which is
unsatisfactory will not achieve the popularity that developers hope for.
Source: Wikipedia
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