DWheeler.com: “Commercial” is not the opposite of Free-Libre / Open Source Software | Linux Today
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DWheeler.com: “Commercial” is not the opposite of Free-Libre / Open Source Software

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Dec 30, 2006

“When I talk with with other people about Free-Libre / Open
Source Software (FLOSS), I still hear a lot of people mistakenly
use the term “commercial software” as if it had the
opposite meaning of FLOSS (aka open source software, Free-Libre
Software, or OSS/FS). That’s in spite of (1) the rise in
commercial development and support for FLOSS, (2) most FLOSS
projects’ goal to incorporate improvements, which are
actually a form of financial gain, (3) official definitions of
“commercial item” that include FLOSS, and (4) FLOSS
licenses and projects that clearly approve of commercial
support.”

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Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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